07.26.05

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? - Psalm 42:1-2.

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. - Psalm 63:1-3.

Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. - Isaiah 55:6-7.

Jay Peterson was flying low on an 83-mile race from north of Baggs, Wyoming until he was finally stopped near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. A Wyoming Highway Patrol officer first spotted Peterson doing 127mph through a 65mph zone. The officer attempted to stop the Audi but the driver would not stop and as a result the pursuit continued on into Colorado. Colorado troopers took over the pursuit. In Colorado, Peterson was cruising along at close to 130mph. Troopers attempted to stop him with spike strips but he avoided the first set. However, Peterson was unable to avoid the second set of spike strips and he was finally brought to a halt.

What reason would a 48-year-old man have for driving at such a high rate of speed? Why would someone try to outrun troopers in two states? What was so important to Peterson for him to do such a thing? Peterson told the arresting officers that he was “speeding in order to make it to church on time.”

Let this be a lesson to all of you who speed to make it to church on time. Don’t do it! It is okay to be a little late or even to miss a service especially if it would put lives in danger or mean you would be breaking laws in order to attend on time. Not knowing who Peterson is makes me wonder if perhaps he was the …preacher, or perhaps he was the guest speaker for the day?? Hmmm.

Although we should never break the speeding laws to attend church we should have and need to have an overwhelming desire to seek God, to find God. We should have such a thirst for God that nothing else in life can compare. This is the kind of thirst that Psalmist is voicing when he says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” The Psalmist also says, “my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”

Where do you look for God? Where do you find God? There is one very obvious place to look for and to find God. The Psalmist goes on to say, “So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.” I saw a sign at a church this week that said, “Have you been waiting for a sign from God before you get involved in church? This is it.” This devotional is not a church sign but perhaps God would use this to remind you that you need to be involved in church, you need to be seeking God with all your heart, mind, and soul through whatever resources are available to you. “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7).”