By: Jarren Rogers

I’m just waiting…

We wait for a lot of things, especially when it comes to God. We wait for the peace for which we prayed. We wait for freedom from financial strain after we faithfully tithe month after month. We wait for joy, for reconciliation. And after all that waiting, sometimes it’s as if God never acts. It’s like we wait all that time…for nothing. 

Amidst your waiting, I want to bring you a very familiar passage. This verse is a perfect picture of our yearning and aching for God’s presence and grace. It’s from Psalm 42:1.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”

I love that image, because “panting” is a perfect word to describe our waiting. We strain and gasp for that which we so desperately need. And like a deer pants for water from a stream, we are racked with thirst for freedom from our stresses and anxieties.

But here’s the reality:

If the deer is thirsty, it doesn’t wait for it to rain. Instead, it goes to the stream where water abundantly and endlessly flows from uphill.

Often, when needs arise, after praying to God, we stand there and wait for it to rain. We wait and we wait and we wait…but it’s as if we are in a dry spell because rain never comes.

I think what David is trying to show us is that we have to quit thirsting for rain and instead thirst for the stream. 

The deer in this Psalm wasn’t panting for rain. It was panting for the stream of eternal, cool, thirst-quenching water. Abundant water. Rain will always end, but streams last for a lifetime.

When we are thirst for water–financial freedom, peace, joy, whatever it may be–we cannot be satisfied with waiting for rain, waiting for God to give us what we want so we can move on. 

Instead, we should be diving headfirst into the presence and peace and grace of God that endlessly flows down from heaven. And you can get that right now!

We mustn’t grow content with simply waiting for the rain.  Rather, amidst our waiting, we should be returning to the stream day after day.

Can I say something that may not be popular? But I believe there is truth here: So many of the things we are thirst for are misguided desires that find their fulfillment when we cultivate our relationship with God. In other words, we think we thirst for one thing but in reality, what we’re really thirsty for is God’s presence. 

If you are thirsty, it’s time to stop waiting for rain. Rain is temporary and unpredictable, but the stream that flows from God’s heart is never-ending and satisfying and good.

So, come and drink.