Showing posts with label path. Show all posts
Showing posts with label path. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Thirst for God

“As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, God.   
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”  (Psalms 42:2-3)

Tziporah:
When tragedy strikes—particularly when a young person dies—people ask me, “How can you believe in God? What kind of God would allow such terrible things to happen?” And I cannot help but agree with them. The world is filled with sorrow and we are filled with longing for something better than this world.  The image of a deer seeking water at the stream gives me a sense of serenity.  This is the natural course of the universe: creatures long to feel close to their Creator, to derive sustenance from the Source of all life.  I can almost see a reflection of God’s presence in the life-giving water. These verses from Psalms also remind me of what a Baha’i friend taught me about faith: God is like a stream of water, and we all dip our cups into the same stream and drink from it to quench our thirst.

Grace:
The words of your Baha’i friend speak to me also, Tziporah. The God for which we all yearn, especially in the midst of great pain or angst, is, I think, bigger than even our most revered Scriptures teach us, deeper than our minds can grasp, and more true than our religious traditions can codify. I think our minds correctly question “what kind of God would allow…” while our hearts tell us truthfully that the God we try to “believe in,” or the God we hate to “believe in,” is not the fullness of the living God who believes in us and loves useven beyond belief.  Living water is an apt metaphor for a God who cannot be contained, defined, or bounded.  The flowing stream is eternally creative, life-giving, and life-restoring.  Thirst for the living God keeps us on a true path.

Yasmina:
As I reflected on these words, I understood them as a testimony given by someone who has experienced love for God, and peace and contentment from remembering Him. I was reminded of this verse in the Quran: “Those who believe and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God, for without doubt, in the remembrance of God, do hearts find satisfaction.” (al-Raad 13:28) The awareness of being in the presence of God is a state we experience from beyond our senses; its effect leaves our hearts and souls yearning. Whether through prayer, praise, giving charity or other acts of worship, the heart eventually finds peace and satisfaction. I find the words of Muslim scholar Ibn Qayyim befitting: “Truly, in the heart there is a sadness that cannot be removed except with the happiness of knowing God and being true to Him; and in it there is an emptiness that cannot be filled except with love for Him and by turning to Him, and always remembering Him.