I need a Shepherd
My family goes to the ocean to unwind and let the elements of wind, surf and spray define our day. God speaks loudly to me by the sea, above the roll of the afternoon thunder, above the crashing waves and above the “wants” that seem to hunt me when I’m back in New York. The salt air cleanses and frees my lungs to breath in the beauty of His creation…of His presence. I start to breath as a man who has just had been saved from drowning.
In with the good…out with the bad….
I start to muse on the 23 Psalm.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want…
Really? I want all the time…my wants are so loud and demanding. They consume so much of my time and energy, driving me, burying me beneath them. The Father says…
Breathe… in with the good…out with the bad….
My mind races ahead with a thought that threatens to swallow me like a rouge wave…What about the world? Surely what the world wants from me is equally as demanding. These wants…cry out, pushing, pulling me…trying to make me do something for it’s benefit…not mine.
Breathe… in with the good…out with the bad….
I need a lifeguard, a shepherd that restores breath to lungs collapsed by the pressure of wants. The good shepherd sees beyond all those…sees my need and I am rescued on the shore of His heart. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word for WANT means to lack, decrease, or become empty. That’s sounds like drowning to me.
The Good Shepherd refuses to let that happen… with Him…I shall not want; I shall not become empty or diminish. I will not drown in the current of self-interest or the “wants’ of the world. I breathe the air of freedom and swim in the grace of a loving Lord and Savior.
Breathe… in with the good…out with the bad…
O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. Psalm 34:9
How’s your lung capacity today? Let me know how I can pray for you.
Comments
My thought re: many, if not most, of us, is our present-day life. The global news instantly revealing murders all over the world... abnormal, heart-breaking ones such as the Syrian massacre that is in our face on-line ... we are buried in pain and distress. Life was tough before, of course, around the world and around our towns, but it normally wasn't slammed into our eyes and hearts so quickly. We live in an unusual generational time. What concerns me most? Our young ones will have it in their faces constantly... and hardly have time to breathe between events ... and won't even understand the seriousness of this life-change. How will their hearts even understand that they need to hit the beach or mountains or forests to rest in our Lord's creation?
Sorry to yammer so much. But it truly is a concern for me. You hit it again, Brother.
Thanks for the clean lift.