Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read Psalm 42:1-2.
Desire is a peculiar emotion. Desire can be motivating and encourage curiosity and exploration. Yet unchecked desire can be an overwhelming passion, leading to bad decisions and outcomes in all sorts of areas. Desire has impacted human culture and history (causing rivalries and wars), and desire has played a regular role in the Biblical story as well. Jesus speaks of desire, and the Old Testament is full of challenges caused by the desire for wisdom (leaving the Garden of Eden), the desire for power, and the desire for love or sex. David, the writer of many of these psalms, was intimately familiar with the predicaments caused by his desires, and many of his psalms reflect his anguish and contrition in the aftermath of dealing with his desires.
Psalm 42 is titled "Longing for God and his help in distress" and the opening verses describe David's passionate search and desire for God. David is writing about his passion for God, and how his "soul thirsts for God." For David, and for us, that is a desire worth pursuing.
Personal Worship Option:
"O God, our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee." (Augustine of Hippo).
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