Want More of God? Living Life "As the Deer Pants for Water"

Every believer goes through seasons on their faith journey that are similar to those in the natural world – stormy seasons, seasons of harvest and plenty, seasons of fresh growth and long, hot dry seasons. Your faith will survive and thrive the mountains and valleys, but you’ll need to pull refreshment from Living Water.

As the deer pants for water, your soul needs more of God every day. Sometimes moment by moment. It is clear in God’s Word that you can search your own soul, and the Lord does as well. (Proverbs 20:27) In both Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 the writer asks, “Why so downcast, O my soul?”

Two of the greatest things you will ever carry as a person who walks in relationship with the Lord are a greater and increasing knowledge of Him, and a greater and increasing knowledge of yourself. But, according to God’s Word, having “more of God” doesn’t mean working to obtain greater or increasing access to Him…

What it Really Means to Want More of God

The truth is this: There isn’t “more” of God that you can have because He gave you EVERYTHING, including His own Son. BUT. There is always more of YOU that you can give to Him.

So many believers pray and beg and sing songs about “more” of God, as though the responsibility is on the Lord to do something more than He has already done for people to experience. That is not in line with the Scriptural patterns the Lord laid out in His Word.

In fact, if you search through the Scriptures, you will not find any instance of God drawing near to people first. Why? Because He already DID draw near – through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah! (John 12:32)

But, if you search through the Scriptures you will find that the Lord is eternally faithful to draw near to those who draw near to Him.

Psalm 42 is where the author writes that famous verse:

“As the deer pants for water, so my soul pants after You, O God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God…” (Psalm 42:1-2)

It is clear throughout this Psalm that the writer is emotionally-charged and pouring out very real and raw desperation during a very difficult season just like everyone walks through on their faith journey. That is why he was drawing near to the Lord. He wanted “more of God”, so he gave God more of himself – the pain, the suffering, the questions…

Everyone experiences pain in this fallen world, even believers. What makes the difference between faith and failure is how those difficulties are processed – in light of the firm conviction of the goodness, mercy, and power of a loving God or in the darkness of anger, doubt, and disappointment with God.

The writer of Psalm 42 (one of the sons of Korah) felt like he had become frantic and gasping and filled with anxiety and fear. Do you ever feel like this?

“…tears have been my food day and night…”
“…With shattering in my bones, those harassing me mock me saying, “Where is your God?…”
“…I pour out my soul within me…”
“…I say to God, “Why have you forgotten me?”…”
“…my soul is cast down within me…”

This desperate worshipper noted he felt he had become “as the deer” – why? Because a deer only pants when it is being chased by a predator.

As soon as a deer escapes from the enemy and knows it is safe, it will immediately look for water to replenish its depleted inner stores. However, if a deer runs for too long from an enemy and cannot get to water, the panting will lead to inevitable dehydration and the deer will collapse and die.

Desperately Desiring More of God

In Psalm 63, David wrote:

“…my soul thirsts for You, my flesh faints for You, in a dry and thirsty land with no water … [but] when I meditate on You in the night [therefore] in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.” (MEV)

When your soul is exhausted and your spirit is dry, only the Living Water of the Holy Spirit can revive you.

“…I lift my hands in Your name…and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,” David wrote. (Psalm 63:4-5 MEV)

Praise and worship will keep you connected to the source of spiritual refreshment that will help you survive this difficult season as you’re walking through The Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Did you know that a deer panting for water isn’t thirsty or overheated? Dogs pant on a hot day, but deer do not. (Generally speaking, deer get a great deal of their water from the food they eat – up to 90% in some cases, so they don’t often go hunting for water and they can go long periods without a water source.)

So, if it was common knowledge that deer don’t “pant” like dogs do when they are hot, why would the Psalmist write “…as a deer pants for water so my soul pants after You, O God…”?

Writing words like, “As the deer pants for water so my soul pants for You O Lord,” shows that this son of Korah had come to the end of himself spiritually, emotionally, and physically and he was becoming exhausted, worn out and depleted from being pursued by the enemy. Inside of his soul, he had reached the point where he wanted to give up, lay down and and die.

But that isn’t what he did. With the very last of what he had to give, he ran just a little bit further… to the Lord.

True Revival is Life After Death

It is God’s desire to bring back to life, health and vitality the things that have collapsed or fallen into disrepair in your life. Because God is a God of purpose, your life has a specific purpose as well. The primary purpose of the believer is to worship, to minister to Him with thanksgiving. You were created to worship.

“Revive me…”

In Psalm 119, the word “revive” (“quicken” in the King James) is used to refer to someone who literally believes that they are dying or are at the point of death so when the writer cries out to the Lord, “Revive me…,” this word means:

“To bring back to life, restore and then cause to grow once again; to have a life that is sustained by someone else; to bring back from sickness, discouragement, faintness or death.”

If you’ve been in a long season of drought in your walk with the Lord, you need “revival”, which means something inside your soul has died or is dying.

Maybe it’s hope.
Maybe your faith for what you’ve been believing for is dying.
Maybe a dream has died, or a relationship, or an expectation.
Maybe your willpower is dying.
Maybe your vision is dying.
Maybe your joy has died.
Maybe your desire to worship has died, or your excitement for the things of God.

Revival is more than just wishing for a better state of existence. True revival is a condition of the heart whereby your life is no longer sustained on your own efforts and power, but by the right hand of the Lord where He brings you back to life- not as you once knew it, but as He has designed it to be.

“True revival is a condition of the heart whereby your life is no longer sustained on your own efforts and power, but by the right hand of the Lord where He brings you back to life.”
~ Alicia Purdy ~

The Lord will restore, revive, rework all that concerns you. Don’t be fooled into walking by what you feel in worship – just worship!

You are not alone and you don’t have to give up and die if you don’t want to! Cry out to the Lord – He HEARS you!

Here are 11 times the Psalmist cried out for revival in Psalm 119:

Psalm 119:25, “My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word.”
Psalm 119:37, “Turn away my eyes from beholding worthlessness, and revive me in Your way.
Psalm 119:40, “Behold, I have a longing for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness.”
Psalm 119:50, “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word revives me.”
Psalm 119:88, “Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, that I may keep the testimony from Your mouth.”
Psalm 119:93, “I will never forget Your precepts, for with them You have revived me.”
Psalm 119:107, “I am greatly afflicted; revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.”
Psalm 119:149, “Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness, O Lord; revive me according to Your judgment.”
Psalm 119:154, “Plead my cause, and defend me; revive me according to Your word.”
Psalm 119:156, “Great are Your compassions, O Lord; revive me according to Your judgments.”
Psalm 119:159, “Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.”

Worship is a weapon of our warfare because God dwells within your praise (Psalm 22:3), and when He is there- that’s all you need! The worst times of your life are the times to worship the most.

If you struggle to worship the Lord, or to feel connected in worship, you will find yourself struggling in every other area of life. If you are looking for victory, or a miracle, or a fresh word from Him, it will be found in His presence.

What things did the Psalmist ask the Lord to revive him with?

“Your Word”, (Psalm 119:105)
“Your way“ (Psalm 18:30)
“Your righteousness” (Matthew 6:33)
“Your lovingkindness” (Psalm 63:3)
“Your precepts” (Psalm 119:15)
“Your judgments” (Psalm 19:9)

These are the things that will stir your spirit once again, and soothe your soul and renew your mind. Living life as the walking dead is not what the Lord has destined and purposed for you, but if that’s where you are- He will revive you.

There is a plan in place to keep you alive, renew you and grow you up, but no one is going to drag you; you will have to take the steps forward and push past the things that have died and keep your eyes on the Living God.

“I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:10)

The Lord has already brought you back to life.

Even if you are still reviving, “open your mouth” and worship the Lord, thanking Him in faith for your revival. He will fill your worship with a testimony of revival and victory as you thank Him for what He has already done. Worship is your way forward- get into His presence and don’t leave. Stay in worship and let God take care of raising to life what’s dying inside of you.

Thought for today: Living Water Will Refresh Your Spirit and Your Soul

Unlike a deer being pursued by an enemy who must then hunt for water, the Psalmist, a worshipper of the Lord Most High, knew exactly where to go to replenish his exhausted spirit.

The Psalmist of Psalm 42 wrote, “Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song will be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” (Psalm 42:8)

He praised and worshipped and survived on Living Water. Did he feel like it? Most definitely he did not. But that’s not how faith works and that isn’t the point of praise. The point of origin for praise is gratitude. Praise and worship fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author of your faith and only He can help you in your darkest seasons.

The son of Korah that wrote Psalm 42 commanded his soul to put hope in the Lord and praise Him saying to himself, “…Wait for God; I will yet thank Him, for He is my deliverance and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)

The victory of Psalm 42 is seen in the words that are written before anything changed, while the pains and fears and trials were still unfolding, but even amid the raw emotions, this son of Korah refused to put his trust in anyone but God. He acknowledged his feelings and then forced them into subjection to his faith in the Lord. That is true victory!

Worship while you wait. In a dry season, when your spirit is thirsty, the enemy will run you ragged, but if you have Living Water flowing through your spirit – YOU CAN PURSUE THE LORD AND OUT RUN THE ENEMY! Worship is a spiritual discipline so you must rule over your flesh with your faith and worship the Lord “as the deer pants for water” to replenish your dying spirit, and you’ll find the strength to continue on!