READ: Psalm 42
“As a deer pants for water so my soul longs for you” (42:1-2) is a bumper-sticker verse. Companies print it on mugs, blankets, and home decor. I am sure this verse has even showed up on hunting gear at some point. This is not a cute verse, though. It is about an animal dying of dehydration. David seems as though he has moved from stressed to depressed in this passage. He’s not just distressed; he’s devastated. He leverages the imagery of a dehydrated deer longing for water. In the Palestinian desert, pools and streams were few and far between. Due to this, animal bones scattered the landscape. If a deer failed to navigate a stream, it would become another pile of bones in the sand.
This deer illustrates our lives when we’re going through severe stress. We find ourselves desperate for relief, desperate for our needs to be quenched. The absence of hope is like the absence of water. It is not just uncomfortable— it’s unbearable. The Psalmist is paralleling physical thirst with spiritual thirst. He is not thirsty for a water; he is thirsty for the presence of the living God. Just as our bodies depend on water, our hearts depend on God’s presence.
Look at what David says in verse 5: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him.” Even when it feels difficult, cling to hope. We have hope in His living presence. We have hope in the future of heaven. We have hope in every promise in Scripture. Store up this hope like you fill up a water bottle before a long hike. Let it nourish you when you feel empty.
When you feel like you can’t go on, hope in God.
When everything around you is unpredictable, hope in God. When you experience fear for the future, hope in God.
We often say hope in the context of an expectation. “I hope I get off work early today.” “I hope the BBQ place isn’t sold out of brisket.” “I hope traffic isn’t too bad.” God doesn’t just offer hope for the future. He provides hope for the present. Our hope isn’t an aspiration— it’s an expectation. You can be confident in your future because you personally know the author of it.