A Heart Panting for God

If we are to be able to pursue God with a coordinated heart and mind, we must be willing to get in touch with the deep thirst for God which resides at the core of our being. You will never pursue God “with all four feet” until you become intensely aware of this deep inner thirst.

The thought underlying the word picture in our text today is that of a deer craving for water during a prolonged drought or after having been chased. The psalmist said his heart longed, or panted, for God, and the strong Hebrew word used here suggests a desire so intense that it is audible.

Do you pant after God in the way the psalmist described? Do you pursue Him in such a way that everything else in your life takes second place? I have to confess that I don’t. Oh yes, I long after God. But I know I don’t pant after Him in the way the psalmist described. And neither, I am convinced, do most other Christians.

Now don’t react defensively and say: “Whatever does he mean? My heart pants after God, and I will not let anyone try to tell me differently.” Let me ask you to reserve any judgment you have on the statement I have just made, and I think I will be able to show you in some of the following readings that although you have a deep desire to know God, you still might not have gotten to the place where your heart pants after Him in the way the psalmist described. But take heart—you can.

Further Study

Ps 73:15-28; 27:4; 2Ch 15:15

What was the psalmist’s confession?

What happened when Israel sought the Lord wholeheartedly