I praise you, Lord my Shepherd. You have overcome for me all the shame that ever has or ever will attach to me. You are teaching me to overcome it too. By your grace, I drink deeply of your favor, and it restores my rest.
At times, David found himself in a very dark place. When he sang, “I will fear no evil,” he confessed: “Evil is real – but God’s ever-present help is greater.”
As we come to him, our Lord shows us: “Rest? It restores.” He teaches us a new rhythm that calms our life down and turns it around – an unforced rhythm that brings our soul back from the exhaustion where frenzy and fear rule.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” sang David, the poet-king. Or in other words, “I lack nothing.” “The Lord hasn’t given us enough!” cried Joseph’s clan. We may know and love David’s words. Yet at times, it may seem that we lack a LOT. So what do we do with that?
No longer wounded, outcast, lonely, afraid - your new name shall be Confidence, Joyfulness, Overcoming one, Faithfulness, Friend of God, One who seeks My face.
Knowing our Lord by name has nothing to do with calling him by a certain word. It has everything to do with knowing in our inmost being the One to whom that word points.
It’s a story from the distant past, with profound implications today. A story of glory on the mountain – mutiny in the valley. Reading it, we can see how the Lord responded when a people who had just committed themselves to be his people reveled in breaking their vows. As we open ourselves to the Word and the Spirit, may we see much more.
In Moses’ day, the Lord went to great lengths to make a way to dwell in the midst of his people. Now, he’s made the way for his glory to dwell within us.
One wintry day, I finished the rough draft of a book manuscript titled, “The Esther Blessing.” The next morning, the God of all grace celebrated with me.
We who have confessed Jesus as Lord may have taken communion many times. But in observing the ritual – and gazing on the picture it paints – how often have we failed to plunge in?
God saw my stifled spirit, crying out to honor him. He saw my confused soul, sabotaging the good it tried to do. Patiently, firmly, he taught me to act on my spirit's yes even when my soul was screaming no.
Nothing about our Lord is casual. The day he came down on Sinai has this in common with the day Jesus died in our place: Both show how fiercely God loves.