As the Deer Pants

by

Have you ever been so thirsty that nothing mattered more than finding something to quench your thirst?

Earlier this year, I found myself in a situation where I was thirstier than I had ever been. I was in the hospital due to lung-related issues and needed a procedure performed under anesthesia. They gave me the typical “no food or drink after midnight” instructions ahead of time—no big deal. However, after the procedure, when I awoke and needed the help of a BiPAP machine to keep my oxygen levels up, I started to experience extreme thirst. Each minute the BiPAP mask was on my face, forcing pressurized air into my nose and mouth, I became more and more desperate for even just an ice cube. It would end up being five hours before I was allowed to drink some water.

I wish I could say that during those hours I leaned into the Lord’s presence with prayer and great faith, but aside from a few desperate prayers, I honestly thought of nothing more than quenching my thirst. It was weeks later, as I was feeling much better and reflecting on how God faithfully carried me through that situation, that I had the deep desire to thirst for the Lord with the same intense thirst I felt that day. I cried out to God, “Help me thirst for You more!”

Psalm 42:1–2 (ESV) As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I used to read this Psalm or sing the hymn, “As the Deer,” I pictured a grassy valley and flowing stream with a nearby doe gently approaching the water for a drink. Now, after my experience and through digging into these Scriptures, the image in my head is one of an exhausted deer approaching a mostly dried-up stream with weak but determined steps. As she navigates the dry, rocky terrain of the once grassy valley, she occasionally collapses on her hind legs and waits for the discouragement to pass and the strength to keep moving towards the water she desperately needs.

Are we desperate for the living water Jesus so freely gives? Do our souls thirst for intimacy with God more than anything else? Perhaps some days. And like my rollercoaster recovery from my lung issues, we may have days when that thirst is high and days when it’s low. There may be days when our to-do lists or the troubles of this world diminish that thirst, but also days when our hearts’ deepest desire is for the only living God and His righteousness.

In the days ahead, my prayer for you, our faithful partners, is that you will thirst for the Lord and His righteousness and be blessed.

Together in Christ,

Natalie Harper
CFO/VP for Administration