I have never been a hunter; nor have I ever desired to be, except as I teach from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in my 12th grade class.  The author describes part of the hunt like this:

At the clamor of the quest, the quarry trembled;
Deer dashed through the dale, dazed with dread;
Hastened to the high ground, only to be
Turned back by the beaters, who boldly shouted.
They harmed not the harts, with their high heads,
Let the bucks go by, with their broad antlers,
For it was counted a crime, in the close season,
If a man of that demesne should molest a male deer.
The hinds were headed up, with "Hey!" and "Ware!"
The does with great din were driven to the valleys.
Then you were ware, as they went, of the whistling of arrows;
At each bend under boughs the bright shafts flew
That tore the tawny hide with their tapered heads,
Ah! they bray and they bleed, on the banks they die,
And ever the pack pell-mell comes panting behind.

I must admit that in considering the work as a whole I commiserate more with the deer who, after running so hard and perspiring and then bleeding, finds it's way to the river bank before giving up to die.  The deer sought water, even in it's perilous distress, because somewhere in it's nature it knew that the life fluids were escaping, and there could be no chance of life without renewing them at the nearest creek or stream.

Our physical bodies are made of 70-80% water.  All chemical reactions in the body take place in water.  Water transports nutrients and oxygen and is essential for proper functioning of the body's systems, including digestion and the removal of wastes and poisons.  During the course of a normal day, the human body loses about 3 quarts of water just due to breathing, perspiration, and elimination.  Heat, exercise, or illness can cause the loss of up to 3 quarts an hour!  Without replacement of the water, one may suffer progressively thirst, muscle cramps, dehydration, hallucinations, and death.  As with the deer, we must pursue water, even under the greatest of stress, or we, too, lay down and die. 

In the natural, this is undisputed fact.  In the spirit, it is also fact. "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?" (Psalm 42:2), "O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water "(Psalm 63:1), "I spread my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land" (Psalm 143:6).  When we are bereft of our spiritual water, we become first uncomfortable, and then cravings impose upon our minds.  Then the pains or cramps come as the enemy begins to work his attack.  The farther we wander away from the water, the deeper we go into a desert place where, dehydrated, we are suseptible to the lies and manipulations of the enemy, until we are spiritually dead. 

So what is spiritual water, and how can we avoid the wiles of the enemy to seduce us into those desert places? Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "Everyone who drinks this water [from the well] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"  (John 4:13-14).  Revelation 7:17 reveals that Christ, the Lamb, is the shepherd who will lead us as His flock to  springs of living water, recalling the words of the Psalmist, "He leads me by the still waters; He restores my soul." Isaiah rejoices in the living water: "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (12:3).  And Christ is even willing to extend us grace in the desert wilderness, even when we have walked in with our eyes open. Hear these words of comfort: "Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43:18-19). 

Even more dramatic, picture this: A loud voice from the throne of heaven announces to the saved, the bride of Christ, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.  He who overcomes will inherit this, and I will be his God and He will be my son" (Rev. 21:6b-7).

The reservoir of God's blessing calls out to the spirit in us as we return to Psalm 42.  "Deep calls to deep in the roar of the waterfalls; all Your waves and breakers have swept over me" (7). The Creator calls to the created to come, "Come and thirst no more. "