Ensign: The Lord Is MY Shepherd

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS                                                  24 April 2015

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."  Other Bible translations list the beginning of Psalm 23 ending with "I shall lack no good thing."  But the main idea speaks to our desire to control our circumstances.  We do not have to worry about anything when we, the sheep, follow our Lord the shepherd.  I often agree with Calvin's dad from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes; I don't think I'd have been in such a hurry to grow up if I'd known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed.  God didn't make any of us useless leftovers (re: "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside still waters.", Psalm 23:2) or tireless automatons.  Even the busiest of us have to rest; after all, no one laments on his or her deathbed that he or she didn't spend enough time at work or on the road.  We have to make a living, but we can't forget to make a life too.  After all, everyone has to come home to someone.

 

"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."  Jesus' statement that the sabbath, the day of rest, was made for us and not vice versa in Mark 2:27 reaffirms a message from creation.  God didn't rest on the seventh day of creation (Genesis 2:2) because He was tired, but to set an example for us who live in His creation.  God blessed it, and sanctified (set it aside especially, in verse 3) it.  Nothing in God's creation is meant to contradict what He does; when we make the choice to do so, it's sin, a break in our relationship with Him.  When we run on all cylinders all the time, God can't relate to us because we're not open to being focused on Him because we haven't taken the time to get our souls restored.  Workaholics rejoice -- it's OK to rest!  It's Biblical.

 

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou are with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."  All of us living will -- barring Jesus, God's Son, returning in our lifetimes -- die.  Especially as it's happening, our bodies wear down, our faculties deteriorate, our fear of the unknown comes to the forefront.  When the LORD is our shepherd, our fear doesn't go away, but it becomes powerless to paralyze us.  False Evidence Appearing Real (note the capitals) is seen for what it is.  Only it's not our human bodies we will ultimately wake up in.

 

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."  In verse 5, we see the good things of life, what is pleasing to us, don't have to be limited to heaven!  But they are limited to God's will and God's timing for each of us.  Even when we don't feel God's presence directly in our lives, He is there, preparing for us to be with Him fully, far beyond what we as human beings can experience now.  He can bless us, and the blessings He pours on us "runneth over" so we can be a blessing to others.  How unfortunate we are when we squander or hoard those gifts!

 

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."  Psalm 23 ends with our experience of God's promise now as we live and what we have to look forward to, and this could never be written by an atheist or an agnostic.  Sometimes it's hard for us to believe or know what to believe about God, but it's our decision once we die to step into death after life or life after life.  Which way will we go, the one that will tell the Lord we trust Him as our shepherd, or not?

 

David

P. S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with you, and I hope it encourages you too. If I'm not or you want me to get lost, please let me know -- thank you!

Thank You, Lord, that we can come to You in praise and prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even the ones we don't know we have! Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.

Thank You, Lord, for all of us in leadership and service here and abroad, as well as for opportunities we have and the promise of new life! I pray we all seek and have a blessed week. Amen.