This week in Crisis Counsels we journey through Psalm 42, which begins – in the verse we considered yesterday – with one of the most beautiful images in the Psalms: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God.” (Psalm 42:1) It is the theme verse of one of the hymns in our hymnal! (As the Deer)

This verse is followed by one that continues the theme: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:2a

For our physical bodies, water is fundamental. Our bodies very soon experience its lack! The Bible moves us to realize that God is likewise fundamental for the soul. Just as the body suffers when water is absent, our spiritual well-being will decline markedly when we are not in connection with God. That declines manifests itself in the anxiety, restlessness, meaninglessness, and despair that plague so many people in our time.

The answer is to come into the presence of the “living God.” This language makes plain that God is not merely an idea but is an active, real, personal God, who will enliven our souls and sustain our spirits. During these unusual and stressful times, it is a good opportunity to focus afresh on what we most fundamentally need – to be in connection with God, who is the Source of Life.

Prayer – Draw us, O Lord, into close fellowship with You. Share on X

About the Author

Dr. David A. Palmer has been the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Kent since 1995. He has a B.A. from Wittenberg University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he has served three other churches in east Ohio before coming to Kent. He and his wife, Mavis, have three children.