During 2025, Peachtree Church is focusing on the Book of Psalms with a series called Dwell, through which we seek to deepen our conversation with God and open ourselves to hearing his response. The practice of praying three times each day will unite the voices of our hearts and souls as we seek the day when we will see the full realization of the Kingdom of God, promised in Revelation 21:3: “…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
We will email devotionals twice weekly with Monday’s providing an overview of the Psalm as a whole, and Wednesday’s focused on that week’s Daily Dwell.
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?” …Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Psalm 42:1-3, 5
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Last May, our family had kicked off our summer with what has become a tradition of glamping (glamorous camping if you’re not familiar with the terminology) on Lake Lanier. On the first morning we were there, I woke up earlier than I would have liked and ended up going on a long run. It was peaceful and calming, and as I got going on the run, my route took me by a Presbyterian church in the area, where a large herd of deer were grazing along the lawn in front of the sanctuary.
I needed to see that herd of deer gathered around the church, and when I saw them there, my mind turned to the opening words of Psalm 42, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” I had been in a season where my soul was panting for God. It wasn’t a season where I didn’t believe in Him. I still prayed each day and delved into my devotional and study life. I just felt distant from my Creator.
The circumstances around why I was in that season aren’t as important as the simple fact that I was there. My prayer for that trip became the words of this Psalm. I prayed through them while on that first morning’s run. I prayed through them while we were doing all of our normal adventures of these glamping expeditions. I simply let my heart, my mind, and my soul dwell in the words of the Psalmist (and all of this occurred before anyone other than the Holy Spirit had begun to plan for our yearlong Dwell in the Psalms).
I truly relish the deeply human experience of our Psalm for this week, where all too many of us know the feeling of panting after the Lord while in times of struggle, in times of disconnect. Yet, I also love that in these words, we see a repetition in verses 5 and 11 that remind us that we will see the other side of these seasons. “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
For Reflection
- When have you been in a season where your soul has panted after God?
- What has helped you to remember His presence in those times?
Prayer
Lord God, we thank you that you are with us, that you call to us in even in the times when we feel as though we are distant from you. Help us to hear your voice; open the ears of our hearts to you, our Savior and our God. Amen.
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Devotionals