As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee.

You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship Thee.

You alone are my Strength, my Shield

To You alone may my spirit yield

~ Lyrics from As the Deer

The cry of a hungry and thirsty heart. Hungering after and thirsting after Him alone. David did not set out to be king. David did not set out to slay a giant and win the heart of a nation. David set out after God.

David didn’t long for postion, power and wealth. He longed for God’s Presence.

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple. (Psalm 27:4, Amplified)

For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me, He will set me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:5, Amplified)

…through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place. (Psalm 23:6, Amplified)

Dwelling place, the place I live.

Joshua didn’t set out to lead a nation into their promised land. He set his sights and his attention on God and His Presence and from that place, just like David, God raised a leader for His people.

And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend, Moses returned to the camp, but his minister Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the [temporary prayer] tent. (Exodus 33:11, Amplified)

I have never set out to do the things I am doing now. I set out after Him and I found myself in extraordinary places doing extraordinary things. Because I hunger and thirst after an extraordinary being, my God, my heavenly Father, my Creator, my Savior, my King, Who is Love.

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and initimately acquainted with Him… (Philippians 3:10, Amplified)