In the middle of that dark-valley time, I often found myself alone with God, crying aloud and writing passionately in my journal. During that time too, I came to identify with David, the shepherd-poet-warrior-king, in ways I had not before. For David was also ostracized by people he trusted. And he cried out in distress - and in faith.
This is the Lord’s blessing: He entrusts himself to us. As we receive him, he delights in us. Out of this greatest blessing, all his other good gifts flow.
Seven times, God called Moses to come to him on a mountain. Still today, when the Lord says, “Come be with me,” more than you can imagine hangs in the balance.
When all seemed lost, Moses pressed in: To know the character and ways of God. To live in his Presence, to seek his face, to see and reflect his glory. May your heartcry echo that of Moses. And even when you do not realize it, may you become ever more radiant because you have been with your Lord.
Real rest is so different from what I had thought. It’s so much more expansive, and desirable, and enjoyable. And it’s so very vital. Thing is, I desperately needed real rest long before I knew I needed it. I had no clue how rest-deprived I was.
Think of it! All that David experienced and described in Psalm 23 – all of it – is still flowing from God’s great love, in hot pursuit of you.
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?