The Cry of Our Souls

Psalm 42:1-2,5-8,11

 As the deer pants for flowing streams,

    so my soul longs for you, O God.

 

We know what thirst for water feels like. It is an unmistakable sensation. When we experience thirst, it may be because we missed earlier cues to hydrate. Now our body, already becoming dehydrated, has sent us a more obvious signal, an uncomfortable cue, one we will certainly recognize and act on.

 

But do we recognize when our soul thirsts for God?

 My soul thirsts for God,

    for the living God.

Parenting manuals will tell us that when a baby cries it is important to consider the sound of the cry. They tell us that careful observation will help us to distinguish between a cry of hunger and a cry of pain, between the cry of a sleepy baby and the cry of a baby who is merely bored and in need of stimulation. For if we offer our infants milk every time they fuss, we are in danger of training them to seek food every time they feel discomfort; we risk confusing them, compromising their ability to interpret the subtleties of their own discomfort that they might learn as they grow to self-regulate with the appropriate relief.

Do we misinterpret the cry of our own souls?

 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you disquieted within me?

 

When our souls thirst for God, do we recognize the sensation? Or do we not realize our need until we are depleted, desperate, scared, or lost; or until we are drowning in our own guilt, suffering, or sorrow.

Do we recognize the more subtle, daily signs of our longing for our creator? Do we recognize our thirst before we are dehydrated? When our souls are disquieted within us do we feed ourselves with spiritual food, or do we mistake the sensation and sooth ourselves with comfort food, mindless entertainment, shopping,  work…? Or worse yet, do we distract ourselves from our discomfort in ways that harm ourselves or harm those around us?

 

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I remember you…

 

God who sees us, during this Lenten season, this time of quiet contemplation and fasting, this extended period of being alone due to the pandemic, Lord, help us to use this quiet time as an opportunity to listen carefully to our own longings. To learn to distinguish the longings of our flesh and our egos from the thirst of our soul for your living waters. And when we are cast down, oh God, when our souls are disquieted within us, let us remember you and let us turn to you.

 

Deep calls to deep
    at the thunder of your waterspouts;
all your waves and your billows
    have gone over me.

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.

 

Quench us with your living water, Lord. Feed us with your spiritual food. Show us our sins and have us confess them to you. Soothe us with your word. Heal us with your light. Entertain us with the glory you have created all around us. Comfort us with the heavenly peace that is your ever-present spirit within us.

 

And let us remember to praise you all the days of our lives.

 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my help and my God.

Kristin Keller, Administrative Assistant at Grove Presbyterian Church