By Jennifer Stultz
Tri-County Tribune Editor
jstultz@cherryroad.com
The phrase “As the deer panteth for the waters” is from Psalm 42:1 in the Bible. It reflects a deep spiritual longing, comparing the psalmist’s thirst for God to a deer’s desperate need for water. Just last night, as I sat on the back porch, I watch a thirsty deer come into the back yard looking for a drink from our pond.
He approached warily, barely visible in the pale glow of the evening light. The grey-brown coat of the deer blended in the with the dirt bank of the pond but my eyes could catch his movements as he ventured to the edge of the water and every once and awhile I caught the white flick of his tail.
It was a nice moment, and I enjoyed it, though the eye strain was difficult because of the deer’s perfect blending in the dull evening light.
I looked away for a bit, watching the goats in the pens to the south as it was feeding time there. When I looked back, the sky behind the deer at the pond was suddenly lit with a blaze of color as the sun set and God put the sky into a masterpiece that took my breath away. It was magnificent!
Suddenly I could see clearly in the glow created by a beautiful orange, yellow, purple and blue swirl of clouds reflecting a sun already down over the horizon. It was moment in time you just want to remember and savor in your heart forever.
I realized then, that is how it is when you search for Jesus in your heart and find him. Life on earth is great, there are many good moments, good people, good times, but when you see clearly through the eyes of one who is the Son of God who created all we have to see, hear, breath, feel, touch and enjoy here in this life, then everything is made much better!
Finding Jesus, learning about God, and becoming a believer is not going to make earthly life perfect. There are still hard times, difficult days, death, disease, accidents and more. But when you know God, you become privy to a special perspective that goes beyond all earthly reasoning and you experience true joy that at times, is just unexplainable, just like that sunset the other night.
One moment everything is nice and good, but the next, it is glorious! I love that about God, how he shares those glorious moments with us all! And knowing Jesus in my heart, I get to carry that “peace that passeth understanding” around for a long time, eventually forever in eternity. That’s cool.
Philippians 4:6-7 states: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
It just so happened that my son, who was out in the goat pens feeding hay for the evening just happened to have his phone on him and caught a picture of that very same sunset that I witnessed from the back porch. He sent me snapshot of it and I was amazed that he had seen it too. I am sure many people did. I wonder if they thought about God who created that moment as we did? I am sure many did. It was truly amazing.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1
