Tag: Security

When the Lord is my Shepherd I have no want for courage

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me.” Psalm 23:4a

As we have seen the last few days, the greatest king the nation of Israel ever knew, David, pictured his relationship with God as that of a sheep to a shepherd. David placed himself in the position of a dependent, defenseless, and dumb sheep when he wrote in verse 1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” When David trusted the Lord as his Shepherd, he had no want for:

– Rest because his Shepherd made him lie down in green pastures.

– Refreshment because his Shepherd led him beside still waters.

– Restoration because his Shepherd restored his soul when he wandered away from Him.ui

– Righteous living because his Shepherd guided him in the right paths.

Probably the most familiar verse in this Psalm is verse 4. When David wrote the words of this verse, he was probably thinking of an actual place in Palestine called the valley of the shadows or “the valley of the deep darkness.” This was a deep and dark ravine with steep sides and a narrow floor.

Notice how the beginning of verse 4 is related to the end of verse 3. David wrote in verse 3b, “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” But then he goes on to say in verse 4a that one of the paths of righteousness that the Lord leads him in is “the valley of the shadow of death.” Early in the year in Palestine, the flocks graze in the lowlands. But as the summer comes and the hot sun melts the snows on the mountainsides, the shepherd leads his flock to better grazing on the mountains high above. To take the flock to this better land on which to graze, he must lead them through some dangerous and dark ravines.

On one side of the ravine, huge trees reach up to block out the sun, making noontime as dark as twilight. On the other side, a deep precipice leads down to a riverbed where the water foams and roars, torn by jagged rocks. Hidden in the shadows of the dark pathway are dangers such as poisonous snakes coiled to strikeand wolves or mountain lions ready to pounce upon a sheep to destroy it.

Yet the sheep go through this dangerous ravine of darkness because the shepherd has led them there. It took courage for a sheep to follow the shepherd through this dangerous ravine and the sheep gained courage by relying upon their shepherd. The sheep’s only safety lay in keeping close to the shepherd’s side and in obeying his commands.

What David is saying is that he had courage to go through the fearful experiences of life because he had a Good Shepherd Who led him into those experiences and Who would defend him from their dangers. Most of us may be afraid of tomorrow because of the coronavirus. Afraid that we may lose our jobs or keep them. We may be fearful of losing our health or loved ones. Afraid that government officials may make poor decisions. Afraid that our children may turn out wrong or if they grow up, that they may be blown up in a war. Afraid of disapproval or rejection. Afraid to live and afraid to die.

Where do you get your courage? Where do you get the stamina to stand up to life? For David, courage does not come from whistling in the dark or from believing that we can defend ourselves. As sheep, we are helpless to fight our enemies. The most courageous sheep in the world would be an easy meal for the smallest wolf or mountain lion.

As sheep, we need courage to trust our Good Shepherd. When a mountain lion comes to attack the flock or a wolf lurks close by, the sheep needs only to look up to be sure that the shepherd is near. Then it can go back to grazing. And that takes courage! We must learn that we cannot fight our spiritual battles by ourselves. We are just helpless sheep, and unless the Shepherd defeats our enemies, we will be found some place out in the desert of life, torn and bleeding. When we encounter the frightening events of life, we must learn to trust our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. We must turn the struggle over to Him and go back to feeding again. That takes courage; but it also gives courage.

As I read through this Psalm, I noticed the change of pronouns in the middle of these verses. In verses 1-3, David has been talking ABOUT the Shepherd. But suddenly in verse 4, David begins to talk TO the Shepherd. The Psalmist has changed his song from praise to prayer. When David felt the clammy hand of terror squeezing his heart, he wrote, “I will fear no evil; For You are with me.” When David thought about the rest, refreshment, and sunny green pastures, he talked ABOUT his Shepherd. But when he thought about the dark ravines in his life through which he had passed and through which he was sure to go, he spoke directly TO the Lord.

Are we any different? It is nice to talk about the Lord as long as things are in the sunshine. But when the darkness comes we no longer talk ABOUT the Lord, we talk TO Him. What are you going through today? What shadows seem to lie across your tomorrows? The Shepherd knows them all, and you can have courage as He leads you through the dark valley – if you trust Him. Talk to Him about your fears so that His presence can give you courage.

Death is the darkest valley that lies before us. We are fearful when our loved one goes through it and more fearful when we face it ourselves. Of all our enemies, death is not only the last, but the worst. We show fear by not facing up to death. We spend a lot of time thinking we won’t go through death. As our age climbs, we fight to push it back by going to hairdressers and health clubs, and by applying lotions and dyes. We try to disguise death at funerals with flowers and soft music.

In Revelation 1:17b-18, the risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am He Who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” The exalted Lord Jesus “laid His right hand on” the apostle John and commanded him, “Do not be afraid” because He is the eternal God (“the First and the Last”), the resurrected One (“I am He who lives, and was dead, and … I am alive forevermore”), and the One with authority over death and the dwelling of the dead (“I have the keys of Hades and of Death”). This same Jesus wants to give us courage to live triumphantly through His presence in our lives, both here and in the hereafter. Will you let Him?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, it gives me great confidence to know that as my Good Shepherd, one of the paths of righteousness that You lead me in goes through dark and dangerous ravines. I realize now that You do not abandon me in those dark places of life. You are there with me to give me courage and strength. My greatest safety and security is staying close to Your side. Right now I invite You into the places of my soul where fear has frozen my feelings and hardened my heart. Your loving presence casts out my fear. Thank You gentle and loving Shepherd for not leaving me or rejecting me when I am afraid. Please help me focus on Your powerful and loving presence today. You are in control of all that happens. My trust is in You my loving Shepherd to lead me triumphantly through the valley of the shadow of death. The battles I face today belong to You. My hope is in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.  

I am being weaned by God

“1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. 2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Psalm 131:1-2

This amazing Psalm written by King David teaches us about the importance of being weaned by God to overcome our pride. David begins by saying to the Lord, “my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty” (131:1a). Although King David had reason to be “haughty” (gabahh) and think he did not need God, he was humble before the Lord. He admits that his “eyes” were not “lofty” so as to look down on others with a feeling of superiority. Nor did David “concern” himself with “great” and “profound” matters that were beyond his ability to manage them.

As broken sinners before the Lord, we can try to compensate for our deep feelings of inadequacy or inferiority by thinking more highly of ourselves. Our pride may say, “I don’t need you” or “I am better than you.” Out of arrogance we can take on “great” and “profound” matters that are beyond our abilities to manage them. We may be prone to overestimate our own abilities and importance.

But David did not let pride get the best of him because he had “calmed and quieted” his “soul, like a weaned child with his mother” (131:2a). The Hebrew word for “calmed” (shavah) is used physically of leveling the surface of the ground so it is smooth to travel over. God wants us to learn to level our souls so it is smooth or composed before Him. He wants to teach us how to calm and quiet our souls in His presence. Learning to regulate the inner person requires that we pay attention to our souls like David did his soul. Our physical bodies can tell us a lot about our souls.

For example, when there is tension or tightness in my chest or abdomen, it is usually an indicator that my soul needs some attention. So I take a few minutes do some deep diaphragmatic breathing, and then ask myself, “What do you need right now? Do you need to let go of anything and give it to God?” I pause and just listen to my soul. I may take time to journal any impressions or thoughts. Then I may say to my soul, “Let God reconnect you to Him right now.” So I spend time in prayer and meditate on a passage of Scripture that helps me reconnect with the Lord. I may pray Scripture to the Lord substituting my name for any pronouns.  

I was very intrigued when David compared his soul care to “a weaned child with his mother.” A child that is not weaned tends to be very self-centered and demanding. He will cry and harass his mother until he gets his milk. But a weaned child knows the rest and security of being in the presence of his tender loving “mother.” She has loved and cared for him so that it is easy for him to trust her. But an infant that is neglected or mistreated has not been properly loved or cared for, making it extremely difficult for that child to trust someone. That child is more likely to grow up being extremely insecure and distrusting.

I believe God wants to reparent those who were not properly loved and cared for. He does this through the discipleship process among Christians. God wants to use older believers in Jesus to love and care for younger broken believers who were never loved and cared for the way God intended. It will be difficult for them to trust anyone at first, including God and other people. But as they experience Christ’s love while learning to abide in His Word with other believers, the lies that have isolated them from God and others will be replaced with His truth.

God wants to take His children through the weaning process so we learn to trust the Lord to care for us and provide for us. Before we are weaned, we may be very self-seeking and demanding of God. But when we are weaned, we learn that God loves us without limitation or expectation and this calms and quiets our souls.

For example, when a mother makes eye contact with her newborn baby, her face lights up with joy. She delights in her baby not because of what he does, but because of who he is. He is her child! That is all that matters to her. She does not expect him to perform or live up to a certain standard. Her child is absolutely lovable because of who he is, not because of what he does or doesn’t do.

The same is true of our heavenly Father toward us. He smiles upon us simply because we are His children. He does not expect us to do or say anything. He delights in our presence simply because we belong to Him! There is no need for us to try to earn His love or approval because we already have both from Him by virtue of being His forever child. So we may rest in the security of His unending love for us. From this we learn that we can trust Him even when His ways are not exactly what we expected or even wanted.

Prayer: Father God, Your Word has pierced my heart today. You have pointed out just how broken and needy I am before You. My heart is so prone to be proud; to elevate myself above others and to look down on them with a feeling of superiority. My pride often overestimates my own abilities and importance to compensate for my deep feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. Like an unweaned child, I can be so self-seeking and demanding towards You. Please Father God, teach me to be more like a weaned child that knows the rest and security of being in the presence of his tender loving mother. Father, Your love and tender mercies assure me that I am loved and cared for apart from any merit of my own, which makes it easier for me to trust You. Teach me to calm and quiet my restless soul in Your loving presence. Help me to see myself through Your eyes of love. I am loved by You simply because I am Your child. Nothing more and nothing less. I am safe and secure in Your presence much like a weaned child in the presence of his loving mother. Thank You for soothing my soul with this message from Your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Facing the storms in our lives

“9 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’” John 6:19-20

After Jesus miraculously fed thousands of people (John 6:1-14), He sent His disciples in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (cf. Matthew 14:22). The disciples started rowing across the Sea of Galilee toward Capernaum, but they stayed close to shore, because they were going to pick up Jesus along the way. But it was not working out that way. John tells us, “Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing” (6:18). A strong northwesterly wind began to blow, driving them farther and farther south, so much so, that they lost sight of shore and the possibility of picking up Jesus.

Matthew is very graphic in describing the storm (cf. Matthew 14:24). The storm was raging. The wind was against them. The waves were immense. The sea was engulfing their boat and threatening their lives. Although these fishermen had experienced storms before, their experience probably taught them that you don’t go out on the lake in this kind of weather!

Imagine how the disciples must have felt. Here they were trying to cross the sea just like Jesus told them to do, but the storm prevented them from fulfilling Christ’s command. They were exerting themselves to the max against the winds and the waves, yet they were unable to make any headway. They must have felt alone. After all, Jesus had sent them out here. Did He somehow forget all about them? Didn’t Jesus care about the fact that they could lose their lives in this storm? What was going on?

Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever wanted God to use you only to have your life become more difficult? You know what God wants you to do, but circumstances don’t allow you to do it? You try with all your might and strength to obey the Lord, but you can’t go where God wants you to go. You can’t do what God has told you to do. And you feel as though God has betrayed you. Like He has played some mean trick on you and set you up for failure. Why does this happen? Why do people who want to be used by God find themselves facing more problems? Problems too big to overcome in their own strength. Because God is trying to teach us about His plan. His plan cannot be carried out without His power. As long as we keep trying to do the will of God in our own strength, we will fail.

The disciples battled this raging storm through the long hours of the night. Mark says they were “straining at rowing” (Mark 6:48). By 3 a.m. they had rowed “about three or four miles” with about two miles to go (6:19a). Even though these men were exhausted, they faithfully kept trying to row across the Sea. And when they looked over their shoulders, they were “afraid” or literally they were “terrified” to see a ghostlike form walking on the water toward them (6:19b). These men were expecting to die, and they thought the angel of death was coming to take them. But this was no ghost. This was Jesus walking across those waves. And He was using those immense waves as pavement for His feet. The sea that had impeded the disciples’ movement, was no obstacle for Christ, and all that they feared brought no fear to Jesus.

Above the raging storm the disciples heard a familiar voice bring a word of comfort. “It is I; do not be afraid” (6:20).  When Jesus says, “It is I” He identifies Himself as “I AM” (cf. Exodus 3:13-14) in the Greet text (egō eimi). The verb translated “do not be afraid” (phobeisthe) is a present imperative and means “Stop being afraid.” What Jesus is saying is, “That which scares the living daylights out of you, this strange form walking across the stormy sea, doing what is absolutely impossible for men to do, that is Me – the Eternal God! And the very waves that are over your heads I already have under My feet. I am in control of these events, therefore there is no need for you to fear. Simply trust Me to take you where you could never take yourself.”

Jesus silences our fears with His Word. And there is tremendous power in the Word of God. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:6, 9). The same voice that spoke this universe into existence out of nothing, can also calm our fears in the midst of the storms of life. This same voice can give us the power to overcome problems that we could never overcome in our own strength.

Life is filled with fierce storms. Where do you turn when you just discover your son is a practicing homosexual… your mate is talking separation or divorce… you’ve lost your job and it’s your own fault… your parent is an alcoholic… your spouse is having an affair… you flunk your entrance exam or you messed up the interview… your faith is persecuted? Where are you going to turn when the storms of life batter your soul? The disciples turned to Jesus.

“Then they willingly received Him into the boat” (6:21a). Recognizing His voice, the disciples want to receive Christ aboard their boat. Zane Hodges points out that the New King James inaccurately translates the Greek phrase as “They were willing to receive Him into the boat.” Instead he notes that it literally means, “They wanted to receive Him into the boat.” The moment the disciples recognize Jesus, based on His word, they want to receive Him into their boat.

Then a second miracle took place. “And immediately the boat was at the land where they were going” (6:21b). The moment the disciples wanted Jesus in their boat, “immediately” the boat was at the land to which they were going. Nothing is said about Jesus stepping onto the boat. Matthew says the wind stopped (Matthew 14:32). There was peace on that lake and in the disciples’ hearts. The boat traveled the two remaining miles in an instant as Christ brought them safely to their destination.

There is a message here for non-Christians. Like the disciples, many people work hard to get to their final destination. They think that getting to heaven is based upon their own efforts and works. Like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they are not willing to come to Jesus to have life (cf. John 5:39-40). If they were willing to believe, they would recognize who Jesus was (the Christ) and then, immediately, they would have been safe in His family forever (John 1:12; 6:37)! Their destiny would have been assured by none other than Jesus Himself. In the discourse to follow (6:22-58), Jesus will not only stress His eternal sufficiency as the Bread of Life, but He will also emphasize the believer’s absolute certainty of reaching a safe destination. Jesus will “raise him up at the last day” (6:40).

There is also a message here for Christians. Some of us may face some very frightening circumstances in our lives in the months ahead. Disease, disappointment, death, an accident, desertion or divorce, loss of religious freedom, or even persecution may take their terrible toll on our lives. We may all find ourselves in a sea of trouble like these disciples. But what Jesus is saying to the disciples (and to us) is, “That which frightens you, that very thing which scares you, is Me. I am coming to you in and through that circumstance, so you don’t need to be afraid. I am in charge of it. I have chosen it for you, therefore you do not need to be afraid. Simply trust Me to do through you what you could never do on your own; and if you do that, you will experience My peace.”

Whatever storm you are facing, are you willing to permit Jesus to come to you in that storm? Are you willing to ask Him, “Lord Jesus, what do You want to say to me in this storm?” His answer may surprise you and it can calm the raging storm inside of you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You promise that I will face storms or tribulation in this world (John 16:33). I may face tremendous toil and trouble, heartbreak and heartache, and yet in the midst of it, Lord, You have promised to be there, and You can come through the darkest night and over the most troubled waters into the boat of my life. May the eyes of my faith be fixed upon You, Lord. Instead of trying, may I start trusting in the One who is in charge of the storm. Help me to be still so I can hear Your voice say to me, “It is I; Do not be afraid.” You are in control of my past, present, and future. Thank You for calming my fears and replacing my storm-tossed feelings with Your powerful presence. Your voice is enough to calm my storms. You, my Lord, are more than enough. In Jesus’ name. Amen.