There is a River…
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, God.”
Psalm 42:1 (NASB 2020)
Picture with me, if you will, an intense and dramatic scene… a pack of dogs is on the scent of a female deer. The deer hears the barking and howling of the pursuers… large and small… seasoned trackers and novices… noses to the ground… hearts pounding hard… trained with the intent of hunting, finding, and taking down the prey.
Then there is the deer… running hard through field and forest… tired, alone, and afraid. What can she do? Her strength is failing… her lungs are heaving… her breathing is rapid… her mouth is dry… thirsty, she pants for the refreshing and renewing of water.
The dogs are gaining ground… it won’t be long before they will be nipping at her heels. She cannot go on much longer. It appears that there is no escape, but then… up ahead, she sees the river… “Is it deep enough? Is it wide enough?” If so, it is a place of safety and refreshment. Hope is renewed, and with every bit of energy left in her tired body, she runs into the water… through the shallow edges and into the deep current where the dogs will not follow. She is safe!
The deer will pant and cry for water, knowing that her life depends upon it. We cannot live the life of a Christian apart from the Holy Spirit… the Living Water!
Max and David Sapp wrote a song in 1969 called “There Is a River.” Its chorus begins, “There is a river that flows from God above.”
Privileged by grace; committed to serve,
Jerry