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Come Apart and Rest
Many times in the Bible, we are referred to as sheep.
That's actually not a compliment considering sheep are rather dumb creatures. They have no sense of direction without the shepherd's rod to guide them. And, unless we let God's Word guide us, we can make some pretty dumb decisions too, with a lifetime of consequences.
Sheep are smelly creatures and we people, clad in our rags of sin, do not present fragrant offerings of good works unless our heart and hands are clean.
Sheep are utterly defenceless when an enemy attacks; we too would be helpless against our enemy Satan, except that he is the one who is powerless against us because we are God's children, and the Holy Spirit gives us resurrection power, if only we would use it.
Just like sheep we are prone to wander; but no matter how far we stray from God, He will NEVER tire of looking for us to come home. And when we return to Him, He will call a feast of celebration and even the angels will rejoice.
In this crazy, out-of-control, fast-paced world we live in, we are continually stressed and worn out.
Let's look at the much loved 23rd Psalm for our help.
The author of this psalm, David, Israel's greatest king, himself a shepherd, was called a man after God's own heart and states with conviction, "The Lord the Eternal Jehovah is my shepherd. I shall not want." This is a personal statement that should ease our minds.
We get so wound up about so many little things that consideration of our rest and well-being get tossed aside. We don't have time to eat properly, think clearly, and, most importantly, have a daily quiet time with the Lord.
It's in times like this that God "makes us lie down in green pasture," as it says in verse two of Psalm 23; and sometimes this is through sickness, accident or surgery.
Notice the place—a green pasture. Can you remember warm summers with the gentle breeze blowing, when you lay on your back in the grass, gazing up at the drifting clouds by day or counting the stars at night? That didn't cause you stress, did it?
We are led beside still waters in God's pasture—a far cry from the turbulent waves of the Sea of Galilee where the disciples rowed their fishing boats. The water that David speaks of in Psalm 23 is calm and soothing, something like a massage to relieve muscle tension in the neck and shoulders. And, look at this, verse three says, "He restores my soul." (In Hebrew, this means to return again to.) Wouldn't you like a restored soul? It could be with a hot cup of tea or relaxing music (jazz for me).
The psalm goes on to say, "He leads along paths of truth." When the voices of this world bombard us with get-rich-quick schemes, fail-proof investments, or a tempting higher position up the corporate ladder, we need to follow the truth of our Counsellor.
Sometimes on our journey, it seems as if we are in a never-ending valley; but David says we walk through it—we don't stay in the valley. Are you afraid of death? Here, in verse four of Psalm 23, it's described as a shadow and who's afraid of a shadow? It only hides the sun for a little while as we are being comforted.
We read in verse five that with the Lord as our Shepherd, we can have confidence against our enemy Satan and don't need to flee away; in fact, our table, David tells us, is prepared right in the enemy's face; and our cup will overflow with blessing.
God's goodness and mercy, it tells us in verse seven, will follow along behind us ALL the days of our life; and the beautiful, glorious conclusion of this psalm is that we will dwell in God's House FOREVER!
So don't let life's craziness rob you of the joy and wonder of the gift of each day. Take time to come apart and rest with the Lord.
© Jolene Eby, March 2011
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