Thou hast formed us for
Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in thee.” - Saint Augustine
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.
2
My soul thirsts
for God, for the living
God—
When shall I come and appear
before You?
3
My tears have been my food
day and night, while they say
to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4
These things I remember and I pour
out my soul within me.
For I used to go along with
the throng and lead
them in procession to the house
of God, with the voice of joy
and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within
me? Hope
in God, for I shall again
praise Him for the help of His presence.
6
O my God, my soul is in
despair within me; therefore I remember
You
from the land of the Jordan Mount Mizar
7
Deep calls unto deep at the sound of Your waterfalls—all Your breakers and
Your waves have rolled over me.
8
The Lord will command
His lovingkindness in the daytime and His song will be
with me in
the night, a prayer to the
God of my life.
9 I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10
As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say to me all
day long, “Where is your God?”
11
Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within
me?
I will Hope
in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help
of my countenance,
my God.
I encourage everyone to have
this mighty longing after God. Our
lacking of it has brought many of us to
our present lowly state. Without a
longing desire to seek God there shall be no manifestation of Christ to His
people. The simplicity of finding Christ is turned around backwards as we seek
by our own methods. In truth, first we
must be drawn. God calls the sinner to Himself and we respond in repentance and
faith. The shallowness of our own self made inner experience and worship has
taught us to know God imperfectly, and the peace of God barely known at
all.
“Let him
take up his cross and follow me…” Matthew 16:24. The way to deep knowledge as well as deeper
inner experience comes only through the poverty of our soul and the disposing
of all things our flesh holds close. It
is true God blesses us with material possessions—but never should they have
first place in our lives. The blessed “poor
of spirit” have no longer become slaves to the possessing of things, and we can
only become free through surrendering.
Easier said than done? Of course, in human terms, but by it is the
path that leads us up the steep sides of our own mountain that has been cut out
by God for us to climb. We are given the
opportunity to choose—our own path, in our time—or we can surrender now to
God’s will. We also must know we can
only ascend taking one step at a time. If we refuse one step we bring any
progress to an end.
“Thou hast
formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in
thee.”
- Saint Augustine God has made us
for Himself—this is the only explanation the satisfies the longing heart of the
searching man. He must accept it,
finally, as truth and knowing that the revelation came from God himself. He
speaks to thirsty hearts whose longings have been awakened by the touch of God
within them. The work of God in each
persons redemption is to undo the effects the world has put upon us, and bring us
back again into a right eternal relationship with Himself.
If ever we become depressed, rise up to
seek God as your hope and help, no matter how despairing things may seem to be.
- God’s word declares that we must discipline
ourselves for the purpose of godliness. Discipline means to go against our
feelings.
- If I can’t change my circumstances, how does God
want me to change my attitude? The
only way to obey this command to sincerely change our attitude by changing
our focus from self to God. God has
sovereign control of every situation. So, what is He trying to teach me?
- Seek God Himself, not just relief. When we’re in emotional pain, we should see it as an opportunity to seek God and grow in Him, not just try for quick relief.
O God, draw me near to You
where I can meet with You and satisfy my soul’s thirst.” Amen
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