Be Still And Know

Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? Having spent a couple of years in India, I am very familiar with the challenges of living with intense heat. One lesson I learned very swiftly is that you need to carry a drink with you at all times. But, inevitably, I sometimes forgot. I can remember occasions when I was craving a drink and was happy to drink anything to slake my thirst. Deer are just the same. They can only bound around the countryside for so long before they need to search for a stream of cool, refreshing water. King David used the image of thirsty deer as an illustration of his longing for the living God. This psalm suggests that David was feeling deeply discouraged. Nothing seemed to be going right. It was a time of struggle and confusion, but he knew that God could satisfy him in a way that nothing else could. Many things give us satisfaction for a short while: possessions, success, re