July 1, 2021
Scripture: As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God… Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Psalm 42:1, 2a and Psalm 43:3
Observation: These psalms of the Sons of Korah most likely were read as one psalm of lament. As they recall the glory days of ascending to Jerusalem for the holy feasts and consider their present circumstances amidst persecution, they cry out to God with incessant tears seeking his presence. Where are you, God? Have you abandoned me? Resolution final comes in the last verse of Psalm 43: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
Hope in God? Easier said than done when overwhelmed with sorrow. But the above-cited verses point us to the One who sustains our hope. We thirst for the One who quenches our parched souls (John 4:10). And we follow the One who is the Light of the world (John 8:12) and who is the pathway to truth (John 14:6).
Takeaway: So what’s the first step to quenching our parched souls? As Jesus told the woman at the well, worship the Father (and the Son) in spirit and truth. As awkward as worship may seem when depressed, if we persevere it will refresh our hope in God. And as benign as Scripture may seem when inconsolable, it will eventually restore reason and show us the way forward.
Prayer: Father God, help us to renew our hope in you by refocusing on your Son in worship and the word. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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