Psalm 23:2a Divine Nap Time
Does rest come easily to you or do you find it difficult to make yourself sit still? These days, it certainly seems like disciplining ourselves to rest is a struggle. Even when the rare opportunity for rest is presented, many of us fight it, tooth and nail. We dismiss it out of fear that if we use our time to rest, we won’t have time to get other important things done, which will inevitably result in some disaster. We dismiss it because resting makes us feel uncomfortable, or like we must be lazy, selfish, or slacking on our responsibilities. We don’t want to rest because it can sometimes feel like weakness.
Psalm 23:1 “I lack nothing.”
Much of your anxiety might be steeped in a sense of lack or a fear of future lack. God knows your needs, and he cares about them. He already has a solution in mind to address any area that you lack. Don’t shy away from telling him your needs. Let him calm your anxiety as he provides you with peace in knowing he’ll take care of every need you have today, and all your perceived future needs as well.
Finding Your Purpose
So often we are trying to do our best as Christians to discern our God-given purpose so we can walk it out and make a positive impact on the world. This is not a bad thing in itself, but when we get too focused on figuring out our action-driven purpose, we forget that our original purpose is to be in relationship with God. This is why we were created.
Let Him Shepherd You
“The Lord is my shepherd.” Many of us know this familiar phrase from Psalm 23 so well that we barely stop to think about what it really means. I have had the entire Psalm memorized since I was a kid, but the other day I felt the Lord telling me to pause and ponder this analogy before plunging ahead to the next verse.
If the Lord is like my shepherd, then I am his sheep. What is the role of the shepherd versus the role of the sheep? The shepherd is responsible to care for and provide for his sheep. He protects the sheep from predators and other dangers. He ensures that the sheep has access to all it needs…
Rejoice in this Day
How often do you awake with a sense of celebration of the day ahead of you? Unless you are on vacation, it is likely rare. I’m going to make an educated guess that for most of us when our alarm goes off in the morning, our first thought isn’t, “I’m so excited for this day that God created and for all the blessings it has in store for me!” We are more likely to awake with some stress or anxiety regarding all that we feel we need to accomplish today, perhaps lack of motivation and heaviness when we’re dealing with depression or difficult life circumstances, or even a sense of dread with the thought of having to begin yet another day.
