One of my favorite contemporary worship songs based upon Psalm 42 goes as follows:

 “As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth for thee, You alone are my hearts desire, and I long to worship thee”

         The song goes on offering more, but for a great vision and expectation for Christian living we need only to absorb the first stanza. Everyone of us need to ask this fundamental question of ourselves, “Do we long for God?” Do we long for Him in a way that is as natural as the deer desiring a cool drink of water from the flowing stream? I would venture a guess that some would say “not really” while others would say “not often enough”.

         If either answer sums up your status quo fear not, God is near and He can be found. Matthew 6 instructs us to seek first the Kingdom and God will take care of the rest (paraphrase). Our first giant step toward spiritual life is to place God first above all things. I say giant step because this requires a surrender of our own will and make no mistake this is the hardest thing we will ever try to do. We are not asked to change our will or to overcome it, merely to let it go in deference to God’s will. This echoes God’s instruction throughout scripture that we are to love Him with all our strength, soul and mind. This is an act of might but our might is directed toward the setting aside of our self.

         When we truly surrender our will to God we will begin to sense His presence. His presence is unlike anything else we can ever experience. Our desire for His presence comes naturally to us through the Holy Spirit and causes us to long for Him. He alone becomes our hearts desire. If you have had this experience you know what I am saying. You also know that soon after there may be something quite different. You realize that you have had this experience but now you no longer sense the presence of God. Why? Why can’t we seem to maintain that sense of peace? Paul describes in Romans 7 the battle that goes on between the flesh and the spirit. Having the peace of God in our lives requires constant effort. We must not only surrender once but again and again. Surrender of our will must become a daily exercise for the true believer to experience the spiritual life. It is only by means of this process that we will ever discover the plans God has for us. Without surrender of our self will one is doomed to live this life and miss the exciting things God wants for us. He will not force His will upon us. As it so plainly states in Matthew 6, we are to seek Him, not the other way around.