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Whole Heart

Today I did not randomly open the Bible — instead the Bible verse (actually verses) was thrust upon me on the radio this morning.  I heard an interview with Brandon Heath where he talked about the reason for his song Whole Heart.  He talked about the Bible telling us to seek God with our whole heart, trust God with our whole heart and love God with our whole heart.  He spoke of 3 bible verses.  I was driving so I could not write them down, but these are the ones I found tonight:

Seek God With Your Whole Heart:

Yet when you seek the LORD, your God, from there, you shall indeed find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.  In your distress, when all these things shall have come upon you, you shall finally return to the LORD, your God, and listen to his voice.  Since the LORD, your God, is a merciful God, he will not abandon or destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31

When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.  When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me—oracle of the LORD—and I will change your lot.

Jeremiah 29: 12-14

Until I heard the radio interview this morning, I never thought about whether I am seeking God with my whole heart.  Instead, I am afraid most times I go about it half heartedly.  If I am not busy with something else, if it’s not too difficult, if it’s Sunday morning or there is a religious event that can do the work for me.  I am not sure I am doing it with my whole heart, with my whole being.

Trust God With Your Whole Heart

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

This is probably my hardest of the three.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  My mind overpowers my heart and tries to rely on its own intelligence.  I find it hard to let go.  I think more often than not I reach for God, but with one hand I still hold on to the edge of the pool.  Trust with all your heart.  I need to make my other hand let go.  I need to trust that God will keep me afloat.  He has never given me any reason to doubt.

Love God With Your Whole Heart

Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.  Take to heart these words which I command you today.  Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.  Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”  He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

Luke 10:25-28

Love God with all your heart, all your being, all your strength and all your mind.   I love the instructions in Deuteronomy:  Take to heart these words which I command you today.  Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.  Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

There is no one more deserving of our love than God — this one shouldn’t be hard, but sometimes I know I still put myself first.  Sometimes I still put false idols, electronics, tv shows, candy crush, football games and even chicken wings first.  I do not want to do that, but as I think about it now, I allow this to happen because I am not approaching God with my whole heart.  Too often I am approaching Him with only my Sunday heart — just 1/7 of my heart.

The Bible tells us:

  1.  Seek God with all of your heart — and you will find Him, He will return you to Him and He will change your lot.
  2. Trust God with all your heart and he will make straight your paths.
  3. Love God with all your heart and you shall live.

Wow!  As it was this morning when I heard these three together, my mind is blown.  My heart is stretching.  The instructions are simple.  Following them is hard, unless we do it with our whole heart, so there isn’t room for distraction.  If we only do it half heartedly — we leave room in our heart and in our being to be led astray.  We need to fill it up with God.

I am up for the challenge.  I am ready to let go of the pool’s edge.  Let go with me!

Lord, help us!

 

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A Highway Thru Harvey

We are not powerful.  When we look at the world around us, at God’s creation.  It is clear, we are no match.  Tonight the Bible opened to Isaiah:

Do you not know?  Have you not heard?

The LORD is God from of old, creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.  He gives power to the faint, abundant strength to the weak.  Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Texas and Louisiana are struggling from Hurricane Harvey.  There are many who may be feeling weak or weary as the rain continues to fall.  And there are many others throughout the country and throughout the world are struggling with their own battles and tragedies.  When a large  tragedy occurs there are many calls to reach out to help  with money and supplies.  Celebrities get involved and it seems that everyone bands together to help.  They need our help.  But money and earthly goods are not enough and it is not enough to only reach out when the tragedy is large.  Whether it is victims of a massive destruction, a single fire or a drug addiction, they all need our help.  They all need our prayers and reminders that God is there.  God does not grow faint or weary.  He continues to walk beside us, no matter how far we walk, no matter how deep the water we find ourselves in.  He gives us power and strength, when we ask, when we believe, when we have faith.  As Isaiah tells us: They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.

This chapter of Isaiah starts with these words:

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.

God’s people need comfort.  Human comfort.  Human evidence of God’s love.  We may not be able to save everyone or make anything physically better, but we can remind those who are suffering that God will give strength, that God loves us, that God does not grow weary.  We can bring comfort.

Isaiah goes further:

Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!  Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill made low; The rugged land shall be a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.  Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 40:3-5

Harvey is creating a wasteland.  Where does God work better than with those in need.  Straight through the destruction is a highway for God where God’s glory will be revealed.  I often see God more clearly in my darkest days, in my tragedies, in my sorrow.  It is what we make of our tragedies.  Let’s make a highway, a fast lane, a fast pass straight to God.  Let’s turn our fear into faith, our pain into joy.  God gives us strength.  He gives us comfort.  No matter the destruction or earthly devastation there is a pathway to God and when things seem at their worst, it is a highway, a fast pass.  Because every struggle has an end date, we just need God’s help to not grow weary.  We need our faith to keep us strong.  Through every storm, eventually the sun will shine.  And we will see it brighter than we did before.  We will rejoice in it.  For the glory of God is forever.

Lord,

Help those who are struggling tonight.  Help them feel your comfort, help them know your love.  Help us all make a highway to you.

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Here I am! Guard my steps!

Today the Bible opened to the book of Samuel on the same page where Samuel tells God “Here I am.”  Very fitting after yesterday’s adventure.

But where my eyes were directed was to Hannah’s prayer after God blessed her with Samuel:

My heart exults in the LORD, my horn is exalted by my God. I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in your victory.

There is no Holy One like the LORD; there is no Rock like our God.  Speak boastfully no longer, Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths. For an all-knowing God is the LORD, a God who weighs actions.

1 Samuel 2:1-3

My heart exults in the Lord!  I wasn’t sure I knew exactly what the word exult means (as I do not commonly use it or hear it outside of the church setting), so I looked it up.  Exult means to show or feel elation or jubilation, especially as the result of a success; to leap for joy; to be extremely joyful.  And now I can say with confidence, my heart too exults in the Lord.  My face beams when I think of his goodness.

I am sitting out in God’s beautiful nature feeling the warm breeze rustle the leaves and hearing the cicadas and birds exulting God with their sounds.  There is nothing that I can do to compare to the wonder and power of God.  There is no room for boasting from those of us on earth.  Hannah states that she has swallowed up her enemies.  Pride is my enemy.  I must swallow it up!  For God is my only rock.  There is no one holy like the Lord.

Hannah’s prayer continues:

The LORD puts to death and gives life, casts down to Sheol and brings up again.  The LORD makes poor and makes rich, humbles, and also exalts. He raises the needy from the dust; from the ash heap lifts up the poor, To seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage.

For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and he has set the world upon them. He guards the footsteps of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall perish in the darkness; for not by strength does one prevail.

1 Samuel 2:6-9

God gives us life and death. He raises us back up again.  He humbles us but also exalts us.  He knows what we need and when we need it.  Sometimes we need to be humbled.  Sometimes we need to be brought to the depths so that we can appreciate when we rise again, so that our faith can be strengthened.

God sets a path for us.  But He has given us free choice to  decide where our feet take us.  God guards the footsteps of his faithful ones.  Even when we misstep, he is there beside us.  Guarding us.  Calling us back so we do not stray too far.  But we must have faith.  It is not human strength that prevails.  It is not human strength that survives.  It is faith and the strong in faith who prevail.

I exult in you O Lord!  You have created this beautiful earth.  You have given us the entire world.  I can never be worthy of your goodness. But, here I am, God!  I hear you calling.  Guard my steps.  Keep me safe!

 

 

 

 

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GPS: God’s Plans Save

GPS — Global positioning system.  Our navigational tool.  It always seems to know where we are, where the closest fueling station is and how far to the nearest McDonalds. We rely on it for direction.  We rely on it to show us where to go and to get us to where we are going.

This morning I was headed to a meeting when my GPS suddenly changed from an 8:00am arrival time to a 9:10am  arrival time.  Within moments I was sitting in traffic in between two exits on the highway with no way to reroute.  Sitting.  Still.  Not moving at all — I was 10 miles away from where I was supposed to be and my projected arrival time kept getting later and later.  I was going to be late.  Since I was completely stopped in traffic (I promise I did not text and drive),  I pulled out my phone to send a quick email to the person I was supposed to meet.  I started typing that according to my GPS I was going to be late.  I typed gps and as soon as I hit the spacebar, gps turned to God.  I felt an instant warm tingle.  GPS — my navigational tool — was autocorrected to God.  GPS the thing I was blaming for slowing me down had autocorrected to God.  I tried it several more times — and each time I typed the letters gps and hit the space bar, the word changed to God.  Hmmm.  Was He trying to tell me something?  I thought about that as I sat in traffic for another hour and as I finally passed the accident that had shut down the highway, thankful that I wasn’t in it.

Later this evening, as I was driving home, I somehow found myself in another traffic jam.  Once again I was stuck on the highway between two exits with no way to reroute and the GPS was telling me I was now 3 hours and 50 minutes away from home (instead of the hour and a half I should have been).  I was bored.  The entire highway was at a standstill.  We were not moving anytime soon.  I pulled out my phone and tried typing gps on a text to see if it would autocorrect  — I was disappointed to see it did not autocorrect on my text and remained gps.  Maybe it was just a fluke this morning.   Or maybe it only worked on email.  I decided to text my sisters to see if when they typed an email it changed the word gps to God.  Wouldn’t it be cool if I told them to email something like “I love my gps!”  or “Follow gps” and it changed to I love my God or Follow God.  I decided on “I need gps.”   I texted them  asking them to email me this phrase and as soon as I typed I need gps — it autocorrected to “I need God”.  A moment ago when I typed gps it recognized it as a word, but when I texted “I need gps” — it automatically changed to “I need God”.  Was God talking to me?  I fixed the text message so it told them to text or email “I need gps” and waited for what I hoped was a stream of emails or text messages that said “I need God.” Instead they all came back “I need  gps.”

Now I was certain God was trying to tell me something.  But what?  At this point I had been up since 3:30, had driven or been stuck in traffic for almost 8 hours total, and had spent 6 hours in a meeting, so I was a little tired and a little slow.  Then it hit me.  Duh! God is the only GPS I need.  I need to rely on Him for direction.  This was not really a new lesson– but one for which I can always use a reminder.   But I felt there was more.  I put my hands up in the air and asked (I was still sitting in traffic) — what direction are you telling me to take?  And I looked at the traffic around me and at the gps that was still taunting me with a red line representing the traffic on the route and the added time it was telling me the journey would take.  And I thought — how strange that twice today I have been sitting (literally sitting)  — forced to sit still in traffic for long periods — and thinking about God and GPS. The message was suddenly loud and clear.  SLOW DOWN.  BE STILL. And I kid you not, I heard the song  Still, by Hillary Scott.  Its words hit the nail on the head:

I believe that You are God alone
But sometimes I still try to take control
Cause I get scared when I can’t see the end
And all You want from me is to let go

You’re parting waters
Making a way for me
You’re moving mountains that I don’t even see
You’ve answered my prayer before I even speak
All You need for me to be is still

I just need to be still.  God has it all under control.

Tonight the Bible opened to Luke:

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.  But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

Luke  6:46-49

Lord,

You have my attention.  I am listening.  All of todays devices and media and GPS’s cannot show me the path that you have set for me.  Help me to listen and to act upon your words.  You are my GPS.  You know where I am and where I am going.  You know how to get me there.  Help me to follow.  Help me to turn off all of the distractions.  Help me to be still, to slow down, to see what you are doing.  Thank you for slowing me down today and keeping me safe.

 

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Journey Together

Today the Bible opened to the book of Amos.  I must confess, I have not read the book of Amos before.  Indeed, I am not even sure I knew there was a book of Amos until this morning.  This single line jumped off the page this morning:

Do two journey together unless they have agreed?

Amos 3:3

This is found in the section titled Threefold Summons to Hear the Word of the Lord.

I think I often view my relationship with God as a one-way street.  I want Him to be there for me.  I want Him to answer my prayers.  I want Him to show me the path.

Life is a journey.  I know that God is always there in the journey.  He is always ready to walk with us.  Do two journey together unless they have agreed?  God can summons us, God can wait for us, God can be there beside us, but….  Do two journey together unless they have agreed?  It is not enough that God is there.  We have to be there.  We have to agree.  We have to choose to walk with Him, to journey with Him.

God gave us free choice.  He walks beside us, He calls our name, He waits for us.  He wants us to be there with Him, just like we want Him to be there for us.  He wants us to call out to Him, to pray.  He wants us to join Him on the path.  We cannot journey together unless we agree.

Lord,

I want to journey with you.  Show me the path.  Help me to follow.

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Praise God!

It is Sunday.  A day to praise and worship God.  The Bible agreed this morning, as it opened here:

On that same day, David appointed Asaph and his brothers to sing for the first time these praises of the LORD:

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds.  Sing praise, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds.  Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!

Rely on the mighty LORD; constantly seek his face.

Recall the wondrous deeds he has done, his signs, and his words of judgment, You sons of Israel, his servants, offspring of Jacob, the chosen ones!  The LORD is our God; who rules the whole earth.  He remembers forever his covenant the pact imposed for a thousand generations— Which was made with Abraham, confirmed by oath to Isaac, And ratified as binding for Jacob, an everlasting covenant for Israel: “To you will I give the land of Canaan, your own allotted heritage.”  When they were few in number, a handful, and strangers there, Wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another, He let no one oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: “Do not touch my anointed, to my prophets do no harm.”

Sing to the LORD, all the earth, announce his salvation, day after day.  Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.  For great is the LORD and highly to be praised; to be feared above all gods.  For the gods of the nations all do nothing, but the LORD made the heavens.  Splendor and majesty go before him;  power and rejoicing are in his holy place.

Give to the LORD, you families of nations, give to the LORD glory and might; Give to the LORD the glory due his name! Bring gifts, and come before him; bow down to the LORD, splendid in holiness.  Tremble before him, all the earth; the world will surely stand fast, never to be moved. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let them say among the nations: The LORD is king.  Let the sea and what fills it resound; let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!  Then let all the trees of the forest exult before the LORD, who comes, who comes to rule the earth.

Give thanks to the LORD, who is good, whose love endures forever; And say, “Save us, O God, our savior, gather us and deliver us from among the nations, That we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in praising you.  Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!

Let all the people say, Amen! Hallelujah.

1 Chronicles 16:7-36

Amen!

Twice David tells us: Give thanks to God!  Being grateful seems like a lost attribute in today’s world (perhaps it was in ancient times as well).

Call on His name. Constantly seek His face.  Rely on God.  (How often do we forget to ask?  To call out to God when we need Him — and even when we think we don’t need Him?  How often do we doubt and fail to trust that His way is the right way — to be confident that we can rely on Him?)

Sing to the Lord.  Spread the joy of God. God has done mighty deeds.  Announce His salvation day after day.  Tell all the earth of his glory.   There can be no doubt that what the world needs now, is God!  Who is going to tell the world this?  It takes us all of us to do that.  Sing of God’s goodness.  Let all the earth rejoice!  Give all glory to God!

His love endures forever!

Thank you God for another beautiful day! Thank you for every breath and heartbeat that you provide even when we do not take full advantage of them, even when we do not use them to glorify your name.  You are my King!  You are my Savior!

Save us O God!

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Make my roots deep and strong!

I need structure.  I need rules.  I need God. This is what the Bible told me when I opened it today.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers.  Rather, the law of the LORD is his joy; and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever he does prospers.

But not so are the wicked, not so! They are like chaff driven by the wind.  Therefore the wicked will not arise at the judgment, nor will sinners in the assembly of the just. Because the LORD knows the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Psalm 1:1-6

We all face wickedness, sometimes from within, sometimes it surrounds us.  It can be easy to be swayed by popular opinion, by what the world thinks is good, by whatever is “in” right now.  If we do not have a foundation, if we do not have God’s word, his law, it is much easier for us to get tossed about by whatever way the wind blows. But it we focus on God’s word, on his law, if we focus on God, we become planted in fertile soil, nourished by God’s flowing river, by His love.  Like a tree we may sway with the tumultuous winds around us, but we are firmly rooted in God.  We won’t get swept up in the wickedness around us.

God,  Your word is my joy!  I want my roots planted deep and strong! Help me to make the time to nourish and strengthen my roots in you.

 

 

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God is Great!

God is truly great!  Today’s passage is awe-inspiring!

Now will I recall God’s works; what I have seen, I will describe.  By the LORD’s word his works were brought into being; he accepts the one who does his will.  As the shining sun is clear to all, so the glory of the LORD fills all his works; Yet even God’s holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the LORD, Though God has given his hosts the strength to stand firm before his glory.  He searches out the abyss and penetrates the heart; their secrets he understands.  For the Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come.  He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets.  He lacks no understanding; no single thing escapes him.  He regulates the mighty deeds of his wisdom; he is from all eternity one and the same, With nothing added, nothing taken away; no need of a counselor for him!  How beautiful are all his works, delightful to gaze upon and a joy to behold!  Everything lives and abides forever; and to meet each need all things are preserved.  All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has he made in vain;  For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor?

Sirach 42:15-25

Read that again.  It is powerful.  He accepts the one who does his will.  We know that.  But it is hard.  There is some comfort though: even the holy ones will fail in recounting the wonders of the Lord.  We are not alone in our failures.  Even when we fail, even when we fall into the dark abyss, God searches out the abyss and penetrates the heart.  No matter where we hide, He can find us.  No matter how dark we may think a heart becomes, He can penetrate it.  No one is a lost cause. He understand the secrets that we hide from the world.  And we all have secrets.  We all have a darkness we hide.

All of us differ, yet none of us has he made in vain.  For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor?

God is great and He has made us great.  All goodness comes from Him.  We come from Him.  Let us praise God for His goodness and His power!

For him each messenger succeeds, and at his bidding accomplishes his will.  More than this we need not add; let the last word be, he is the all!  Let us praise him the more, since we cannot fathom him, for greater is he than all his works;  Awesome indeed is the LORD, and wonderful his power.  Lift up your voices to glorify the LORD as much as you can, for there is still more. Extol him with renewed strength, do not grow weary, for you cannot fathom him.  For who has seen him and can describe him?  Who can praise him as he is?  Beyond these, many things lie hidden; only a few of his works have I seen.  It is the LORD who has made all things; to those who fear him he gives wisdom.

Sirach 43:26-33

God is greater than we can even imagine.  We cannot fathom Him.  Think about these words: Greater is He than all His works.  Only a few of His works have we seen.  There is still more.

God,

You are all almighty!  I try to place you into a box here on earth, something I can comprehend.  I vainly attempt to comprehend what I cannot understand.  Your power is beyond my comprehension.  Your love is beyond my comprehension.  I know it is great.  I know you are great!  I am in awe.  All glory and praise to you!  I want to know you better.  I want to serve you better.

I know that You are the King of the World!

My prayer is that I may serve as your messenger, that I may do your will!

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Battle against Evil

There are many battles in life.  We hear about them all the time.  Military battles like the battle at Yorktown, the battle of the Alamo, the battle at Gettysburg.  Court battles like Marbury vs. Madison, Brown vs. Board of Education, Roe vs. Wade.  Sports battles or rivalries like the Yankees and Red Sox, the Cowboys and the Redskins, the Bengals and the Steelers. Everyday battles like the battles with our children over bedtime or eating vegetables.  We have all heard the saying, you have to pick your battle.  In other words, if we are going to spend energy and resources fighting something, we want to make sure it is worth it.

There really is only one battle worth fighting.  The battle against evil.  And we need to fight it every day.  Sometimes we may try to take the easy way and hide from it.  Sometimes we forget how to fight it.  In tonight’s bible verse, God tells us how to fight the battle:

Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.  Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.  For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.  Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.  So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10-17

When our favorite sports team is playing we put on the team jersey, we may wave a team flag or scarf or foam finger, we chant the team name or sing the team song.  All for a battle that is (ultimately) meaningless.  For the most important battle of our life — what do we put on?  Are we wearing God’s jersey?  Are we waving His flag? Are we chanting His name or singing his word?

We know how to fight battles.  Let’s fight this one together!  Put on God’s armor! Hold faith as a shield!  When our faith is strong, what can penetrate it?  Take the helmet of salvation!  God’s salvation — our protection.  Take the sword of the Spirit!  The word of God is powerful like a sword — it pierces to the heart.  It destroys evil.  It is the offensive weapon.  Our faith is our defense — our shield to protect us when evil strikes.

Our struggle is not with flesh and blood.  The struggle goes much deeper.  But we can draw strength from God for every battle.  Our prayers are our victory chants.

God,

You are great!  I want to be on your team!

Let’s Go with God!

Let’s Go with God!

Let’s Go with God!

L-E-T-S-G-O! Let’s go!

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The Lord is My Shepherd

It is fitting that tonight the Bible opened to this Psalm:

The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.  In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul.

He guides me along right paths for the sake of his name.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.

You set a table before me in front of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the LORD for endless days.

Psalm 23:1-6

I have always equated this psalm with death.  But as I read it now, I see that it is all about life! With the Lord as our shepherd, what can we need?  He provides us with everything.  Green pastures to lie down.  (Think about a beautiful green pasture.  I cannot help but smile when I think of a bright green pasture lit against a blue sky.  Peaceful.  God provides us with rest for our mind and body.  There is so much around us that is just beautiful and peaceful if we stop and look.)  Still waters — to restore us.  Water to drink.  Water to wash over us.  Water to restore us and give us new life.

He guides us along right paths. (Oh, how I wish I would stop trying to explore on my own!)

And then the death part — even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…  I will fear no evil for you are with me.  At our darkest times, God is with us.   David goes from talking about “the Lord” to talking very familiarly about “you” because in our darkest times, God is right there.  He is not a far off being, referred to in the third person.  He is right there, as a friend, as a confidant, as a protector.  “I will fear no evil for you are with me.”  He is there as a father: “your rod and your staff comfort me.”

This is not about death — this is about life.  Life here on earth where God walks with us, provides for us and pursues us with His goodness and mercy.  Our cup overflows with God’s love.  And life with God for endless days.  God sets His table before us — He invites us to join Him.  He pursues us with His goodness and mercy.   He pursues us.  Imagine the power if we pursue Him.

Oh Lord,

I ask you to be with those who are walking through the shadow of death.  Lift them up.  Show them your goodness and mercy.

Thank you for pursuing me and never giving up.  I pledge to pursue you.