Hot, dry, windy, dusty, uphill. A race against the clock. I was in a cross country running race for Cerritos Community College in California. Our course ran us 3 miles through the switch backs of our local foothills. The weather was particularly miserable because the Santa Ana winds were blowing, which means high temperatures and high winds. My sandpaper tongue glued itself to the roof of my mouth. These were the days no one ran with water bottles, no friendly volunteers offering you a paper cup of water along the route. I was thirsty, sooo thirsty. I was dizzy, felt faint, my head hurt, and I was grumpy. I just wanted water. I thought I might die!
This Sunday in Children’s Church, our young ones will be reading Psalm 42, in particular verses 1 and 2: “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?” We’ll discuss how we feel when we are thirsty, and what makes us thirsty. We’ll talk about forest and desert animals that risk their lives as they expose themselves to predators just to lick the clear, clean river or lake water. There are spiritual parallels here. We all need water to survive in our physical and spiritual world. That is unquestionable.
The children will learn that our souls also need water to survive, in order that we not grow dizzy, faint, achy, and grumpy. Our soul needs a certain kind of water, the living water only God provides. The psalmist knows he is in need of soul water. He ends verse 2 with, “When can I go and meet with God?” He couldn't wait. He needed to meet with God and soon! How do we meet God? The children will learn that it is through his word to us, through prayer, and through hanging with our Christian friends and family. When we are feeling spiritually dizzy, faint, heart achy, or grumpy maybe we need to lap up some soul water and meet with God. Pray that our little ones will understand their need for God and the refreshment of soul water.
Soul Water
Hot, dry, windy, dusty, uphill. A race against the clock. I was in a cross country running race for Cerritos Community College in California. Our course ran us 3 miles through the switch backs of our local foothills. The weather was particularly miserable because the Santa Ana winds were blowing, which means high temperatures and high winds. My sandpaper tongue glued itself to the roof of my mouth. These were the days no one ran with water bottles, no friendly volunteers offering you a paper cup of water along the route. I was thirsty, sooo thirsty. I was dizzy, felt faint, my head hurt, and I was grumpy. I just wanted water. I thought I might die!
This Sunday in Children’s Church, our young ones will be reading Psalm 42, in particular verses 1 and 2: “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?” We’ll discuss how we feel when we are thirsty, and what makes us thirsty. We’ll talk about forest and desert animals that risk their lives as they expose themselves to predators just to lick the clear, clean river or lake water. There are spiritual parallels here. We all need water to survive in our physical and spiritual world. That is unquestionable.
The children will learn that our souls also need water to survive, in order that we not grow dizzy, faint, achy, and grumpy. Our soul needs a certain kind of water, the living water only God provides. The psalmist knows he is in need of soul water. He ends verse 2 with, “When can I go and meet with God?” He couldn't wait. He needed to meet with God and soon! How do we meet God? The children will learn that it is through his word to us, through prayer, and through hanging with our Christian friends and family. When we are feeling spiritually dizzy, faint, heart achy, or grumpy maybe we need to lap up some soul water and meet with God. Pray that our little ones will understand their need for God and the refreshment of soul water.
In Him,
Jan