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As The Deer Panteth For Water � � Cheri L. Mize � As The Deer Pants For The Water This song is taken from Psalm 42. Now I want you to be honest. How many of you when you sing this song, envision a stream with a beautiful deer, calmly drinking. It's thirst from the heat of the day being relieved by the cool crisp waters of the mountain stream. It is a beautiful picture so calm and restful. It speaks to the part of us that longs for life to be uncomplicated, no problems, no worries, just the great outdoors, peaceful and serene, Bambie and me (a Land Rover and a Fly Rod) and life would be grand. We tell God and ourselves "in a setting like this, I could worship you all day long. Lord, You know I want to spend time with You! You see how busy I am and I do think about spending time with You. I don't know how it happens but time just seems to slip away. Before I know it the day is gone. I am weary and tired, and I need to sleep; besides it's the thought that counts. Right?" That is not what this song or the Psalm is about. In the past 5 years I have heard two teachings on Psalm 42 (I don't much care for the word sermon or preaching it always sounds like you are being scolded not taught of the Word). I have the honor and the blessing of receiving the richness of the Word not only through my Pastor, but also through his wife Linda and Pastor Jen, both are mighty women of God with a powerful anointing of the Lord. I must admit that I was amazed that they both used practically the same illustration, even though their teachings were 5 years apart (I am not about to rely on my memory to tell it the way they did, I a going to give my own rendition). Forget the gentle stream and Bambi leisurely drinking. Instead envision a deer crashing through the dense underbrush of the forest, it is being stalked by a predator, whose sole purpose is to kill and devour it. Wounded and bleeding it searches for a place of refuge a place in which it can be hidden from the keen senses of the devourer. The deer's heart is pounding wildly within its breast from the terror and the exhaustion of the hunt. It pants for the water not because of its thirst but because by instinct the deer knows that the water will hide its scent. The stream has provided a hiding place for the deer, a way in which to flee from the grip of death threatening to over take it. Psalm 42 is about David's thirsting after God in the troubling times of his exile. Saul was King of Israel at the time David was anointed to be the next King. The Spirit of God departed from Saul and rested upon David. An evil spirit then began to terrorize Saul. David was brought into King Saul's service, because he was skilled on the harp. David would play and Saul would be refreshed, the evil spirit would part from him. Shortly after David had killed Goliath, King Saul enraged by the evil spirit sought from that time on to kill David. Eventually David went into exile, fleeing from the King who had become a madman and whose sole desire was to take his life. David and those with him were constantly looking for a place of refuge, a place in which to hide from the one who sought their destruction. Saul was relentless in his pursuit. The physical exhaustion of constantly having to flee the arms of death was bad enough but consider the rending of David's soul. Here was the anointed next King of Israel, having the favor of the Lord, a mighty man of valor now hiding out in caves in the wilderness, his heart and soul thirsting and longing for the Presence of God. The situations and circumstances that surrounded him must have seemed overwhelming. David remembers the times of the help of God's Presence and the loving kindness of the Lord. In the agony and despair of his exile David knows that his very life depends on the only One who is able to help him in his time of trouble, the God of his Life. His destiny was not to die hiding in wilderness, caves; he was anointed to be King. David knows the Lord's faithfulness, so by instinct He puts his trust in God, the One who will hide him from the enemies of his soul. My friend, the enemy of our soul has set his heart on our destruction. There are many who are like the deer, wounded and bleeding from the battles of life and long to find a place of safety. Others like David, exhausted, and overwhelmed by the situations and circumstances that surround their lives, they long to find a place to hide and find rest. While others may feel like they have been exiled to the wilderness, abandoned and without hope, hiding in caves of despair. Like David we need for our hearts and souls to thirst and long after the Presence of God, to allow our lives to be totally dependent upon Him and know that He is our help in times of trouble. He is loving, kind, and merciful and we can put our trust in Him. Like the deer runs by instinct to the water to hide it's scent, from it's enemy. We too need to run by instinct to the One who is more than able to hide us from the enemy of our soul. Cheri L. Mize � The Midnight Call A stirring in my spirit As deep call unto deep A yearning from within me Awakes me from my sleep On gossamer wings of midnight You softly call my name Elusive as the morning mist Sweet as a nightingale's refrain Longing to be near you My heart and soul stand still Searching out the darkness Which your fragrance fills As I drink in your sweetness The tears begin to start For I know that you are waiting In the garden of my heart Silently I stand there You place your hand on mine As we begin to walk the paths I know what we will find Once a garden lush and sweet A place of great delight For it was always tended Throughout the day and night I never waited for you to call But came with expectancy And just as you had promised You were waiting there for me So casually neglect set in Day turned into months Soil that once was broken Now filled with hardened clumps When did I lose my passion Of spending time with you What became more important Than what you had called me to do Too much time spent in busyness Trying to meet all the needs Instead of being on my knees And pulling out the weeds By: Cheri L. Mize Copyright 11/97 � Brief Autobiography I began writing poetry a little over two years ago. I believe has truly been a gift inspired by God. I have never been one who has enjoyed writing and have avoided it as much as possible (my Mom and friends will testify to that ) and of course there are all those empty journals with pages that are as clean as the day that they were purchased, giving their silent testimony as well. Writing has become a very special time for me, I don't do it as often as I would like to but I long for those times when I hear my Father say "Come, lets go away and write". I never know what we are going to write about, so it is always a surprise to me when we are finished. Last year at a Women's Conference I was asked what my passion in life was, I smiled, and as the tears slid down my cheeks I said, "To pen the heart of God". I know that God is taking me in a different direction as far as writing goes and where it will take me I have no idea, but I know that the journey is going to be breathtaking. � � Lyrics to the Hymn As the Deer Panteth For The Water As the deer panteth for the water, So my soul longeth after You. You alone are my heart's desire, And I long to worship You. ~Chorus~ You alone are my strength, my shield; To You, alone, may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire, And I long to worship You. You're my friend and You are my brother, Even though You are a King. I love You more than any other, So much more than anything. ~Chorus~ I want You more than gold or silver, Only You can satisfy. You alone are the real joy Giver, And the apple of my eye. ~Chorus~ � � � � ANNOOOLAND'S Various Links The Annchor | Devotions | Inspirations | The Blessed | Crucifixion | 15 Prayers | John 3:16 | ROS | Rose Garlands | Pan-A-Vision | AnnDangered | Panpals | Panasia | PanIsland | Pantasy and Legends Pan, Peter and Ann | Awards | My Awards | AnnHancer | Home � Cheri's Homepage � Get your FREE Yahoo!GeoCites Homepage WebMistress does not support nor endorse the advertisements that are displayed at random below on all her pages. They come with the free website hosted by Yahoo!GeoCities. � �
As The Deer Panteth For Water
Cheri L. Mize
As The Deer Pants For The Water
This song is taken from Psalm 42. Now I want you to be honest. How many of you when you sing this song, envision a stream with a beautiful deer, calmly drinking. It's thirst from the heat of the day being relieved by the cool crisp waters of the mountain stream. It is a beautiful picture so calm and restful. It speaks to the part of us that longs for life to be uncomplicated, no problems, no worries, just the great outdoors, peaceful and serene, Bambie and me (a Land Rover and a Fly Rod) and life would be grand.
We tell God and ourselves "in a setting like this, I could worship you all day long. Lord, You know I want to spend time with You! You see how busy I am and I do think about spending time with You. I don't know how it happens but time just seems to slip away. Before I know it the day is gone. I am weary and tired, and I need to sleep; besides it's the thought that counts. Right?"
That is not what this song or the Psalm is about. In the past 5 years I have heard two teachings on Psalm 42 (I don't much care for the word sermon or preaching it always sounds like you are being scolded not taught of the Word).
I have the honor and the blessing of receiving the richness of the Word not only through my Pastor, but also through his wife Linda and Pastor Jen, both are mighty women of God with a powerful anointing of the Lord. I must admit that I was amazed that they both used practically the same illustration, even though their teachings were 5 years apart (I am not about to rely on my memory to tell it the way they did, I a going to give my own rendition).
Forget the gentle stream and Bambi leisurely drinking. Instead envision a deer crashing through the dense underbrush of the forest, it is being stalked by a predator, whose sole purpose is to kill and devour it. Wounded and bleeding it searches for a place of refuge a place in which it can be hidden from the keen senses of the devourer. The deer's heart is pounding wildly within its breast from the terror and the exhaustion of the hunt.
It pants for the water not because of its thirst but because by instinct the deer knows that the water will hide its scent. The stream has provided a hiding place for the deer, a way in which to flee from the grip of death threatening to over take it.
Psalm 42 is about David's thirsting after God in the troubling times of his exile. Saul was King of Israel at the time David was anointed to be the next King. The Spirit of God departed from Saul and rested upon David. An evil spirit then began to terrorize Saul. David was brought into King Saul's service, because he was skilled on the harp. David would play and Saul would be refreshed, the evil spirit would part from him.
Shortly after David had killed Goliath, King Saul enraged by the evil spirit sought from that time on to kill David. Eventually David went into exile, fleeing from the King who had become a madman and whose sole desire was to take his life.
David and those with him were constantly looking for a place of refuge, a place in which to hide from the one who sought their destruction. Saul was relentless in his pursuit. The physical exhaustion of constantly having to flee the arms of death was bad enough but consider the rending of David's soul.
Here was the anointed next King of Israel, having the favor of the Lord, a mighty man of valor now hiding out in caves in the wilderness, his heart and soul thirsting and longing for the Presence of God. The situations and circumstances that surrounded him must have seemed overwhelming. David remembers the times of the help of God's Presence and the loving kindness of the Lord.
In the agony and despair of his exile David knows that his very life depends on the only One who is able to help him in his time of trouble, the God of his Life. His destiny was not to die hiding in wilderness, caves; he was anointed to be King. David knows the Lord's faithfulness, so by instinct He puts his trust in God, the One who will hide him from the enemies of his soul.
My friend, the enemy of our soul has set his heart on our destruction. There are many who are like the deer, wounded and bleeding from the battles of life and long to find a place of safety. Others like David, exhausted, and overwhelmed by the situations and circumstances that surround their lives, they long to find a place to hide and find rest. While others may feel like they have been exiled to the wilderness, abandoned and without hope, hiding in caves of despair.
Like David we need for our hearts and souls to thirst and long after the Presence of God, to allow our lives to be totally dependent upon Him and know that He is our help in times of trouble. He is loving, kind, and merciful and we can put our trust in Him. Like the deer runs by instinct to the water to hide it's scent, from it's enemy. We too need to run by instinct to the One who is more than able to hide us from the enemy of our soul.
The Midnight Call
A stirring in my spirit As deep call unto deep A yearning from within me Awakes me from my sleep
On gossamer wings of midnight You softly call my name Elusive as the morning mist Sweet as a nightingale's refrain
Longing to be near you My heart and soul stand still Searching out the darkness Which your fragrance fills
As I drink in your sweetness The tears begin to start For I know that you are waiting In the garden of my heart
Silently I stand there You place your hand on mine As we begin to walk the paths I know what we will find
Once a garden lush and sweet A place of great delight For it was always tended Throughout the day and night
I never waited for you to call But came with expectancy And just as you had promised You were waiting there for me
So casually neglect set in Day turned into months Soil that once was broken Now filled with hardened clumps
When did I lose my passion Of spending time with you What became more important Than what you had called me to do
Too much time spent in busyness Trying to meet all the needs Instead of being on my knees And pulling out the weeds
By: Cheri L. Mize Copyright 11/97
Brief Autobiography
I began writing poetry a little over two years ago. I believe has truly been a gift inspired by God. I have never been one who has enjoyed writing and have avoided it as much as possible (my Mom and friends will testify to that ) and of course there are all those empty journals with pages that are as clean as the day that they were purchased, giving their silent testimony as well.
Writing has become a very special time for me, I don't do it as often as I would like to but I long for those times when I hear my Father say "Come, lets go away and write".
I never know what we are going to write about, so it is always a surprise to me when we are finished. Last year at a Women's Conference I was asked what my passion in life was, I smiled, and as the tears slid down my cheeks I said, "To pen the heart of God". I know that God is taking me in a different direction as far as writing goes and where it will take me I have no idea, but I know that the journey is going to be breathtaking.
Lyrics to the Hymn
As the Deer Panteth For The Water
As the deer panteth for the water, So my soul longeth after You. You alone are my heart's desire, And I long to worship You.
~Chorus~
You alone are my strength, my shield; To You, alone, may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire, And I long to worship You.
You're my friend and You are my brother, Even though You are a King. I love You more than any other, So much more than anything.
I want You more than gold or silver, Only You can satisfy. You alone are the real joy Giver, And the apple of my eye.
ANNOOOLAND'S Various Links
The Annchor | Devotions | Inspirations | The Blessed | Crucifixion | 15 Prayers | John 3:16 | ROS | Rose Garlands |
Pan-A-Vision | AnnDangered | Panpals | Panasia | PanIsland | Pantasy and Legends Pan, Peter and Ann | Awards | My Awards | AnnHancer | Home
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