I think we have finally hit the lazy, hazy days of summer. It is less hectic. It is easier to find peace, at least for me. Beauty abounds with flowers, animals, and the ability to be outside enjoying it all. I found my self in Psalm 23 again this week and the beauty of summer life and the Psalm inspired me to try to mix the Word with pictures.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Lack is a real thing. I have experienced it on many levels for varying lengths of time, from days to years. It is in those times I have come to experience the presence of God in new ways. So yes, I stand with David, ‘I shall not want,’ because the experience of the presence of the Lord at newer, deeper levels, is well worth the measures of lack I have known, from inconvenience to trauma.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures.”
Green pastures speak to me of abundance, rest, and restoration, a place to graze, and relax in the goodness of God. I have known pastures with plenty of daisies. Daisies make me smile.
“He leads me beside still waters.”
I am finding myself invited, by God and people, to the beach more in the summer. This picture is dusk at Crane Beach, Ipswich, MA. The water can be rough at times, but often it is calm and inviting. The sill waters lend to personal reflection and clearing the mind. A clear mind can hear the sill small voice of the Creator more easily than a scattered one.
“He restores my soul.”
The salt air, the warm sun penetrating to my core, the gentle breezes with the expanse of the ocean, all conspire to restore my soul. I don’t know about you, but I cannot be out in creation without it restoring me in mind, body, soul, and spirit.
May Abba bless you with trust in His goodness, experience of His provision, even to the point of abundance. May He lead you gently to those places that speak to you personally. And May He touch you deeply in those areas of your life that can use some restoration. …For His name sake!
