Joy and Love in Suffering

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? — Psalm 42:1-2

Psalm 42 comes from a place of great spiritual darkness. Twice, the Psalmist asks the question, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” He also describes his pain in terms of his tears being his food day and night. Though he was in great distress, his sorrow did not drive him away from God. His ‘thirst” was not for relief from his circumstances alone, as we may think. Rather, it was for God himself. This reveals a love for God that is deeper and more sustaining to him than any comfort he may find in the present. Even in steady darkness, he found joy in longing for God, because that longing was evidence of a living relationship with God. Loving God doesn’t eliminate hardship, but it does root our souls in someone greater than our hardship. 

The perspective we gain from this kind of love changes how we experience suffering. Instead of giving in to despair, we learn to seek God as the true source of satisfaction. The Psalm’s imagery of a deer thirsting for water points to both need and expectation. As water revives the body, God revives the soul. When all of life’s comforts fail during our darkest moments, our love for God draws us back to the only One who can sustain us in His power and grace. Joy, like satisfaction, is not entrenched in ever-changing life circumstances, but in the unchanging presence of our living God. He meets us where we are in life, renewing our strength and restoring our hope. So, call upon Him in faith.

Prayer: Ever-present Father, You never leave me, and You are in control of every circumstance in my life. Satisfy my thirst for righteousness and give me the desires of my heart as I pursue You.

Reflection Questions: 

1. How do you typically respond to seasons of spiritual dryness or hardship? Do they draw you toward God or away from Him? 
2. How have you experienced God’s presence bringing you joy or renewal in a difficult season? 

Weekly Memory Verse: As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? — Psalm 42:1-2