Longing thirst

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:1-2)"

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2)."

We serve and awesome God. The nation of Israel was set apart and as a people endured a lot (captivity in and Exodus from Egypt, entering into Canaan, etc.). So much of the story of Israel (the people) is the story of waiting, expectation, & longing for the one who would ultimately ransom them, Jesus.

Israel's story is our story. We are a continuation of the story that started with Adam & Eve and continued through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. The redeemer that they longed for came and redeemed us all. "Come thou long expected Jesus" is a song about the longing of the nation of Israel, of us, for the messiah. We think, "I didn't need to wait very long" because we don't have the mindset of the collective "we" as in human kind... but "we" waited a long time, thousands of years for the one who would redeem the world. As individuals, we don't need to wait any longer for the messiah to come, but now we wait for the messiah to return. However, as we wait, are we longing for His return? And are we longing for the presence of God in our lives? Our we longing that the spirit of truth would infiltrate our hearts & minds?

I believe this generation is designed to long for God - perhaps not for the entrance of the Messiah, but for the reality of God in our midst (the kingdom of God on earth). Are we deer panting for the water of God or are we just hangin' out by the stream? May our souls thirst for God.