“For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” Romans 14:7-9
Her body quivered gently as she wept in my arms. The slow emergence of her tears left my shirt soft and damp, the grief being trapped in the fibers touched who I was. I held here loosely, thinking that in this moment if I were to hold her too tight she might shatter into pieces. Her grief spread into mine as we seemed to somehow share the burden of the moment. My mind drifted away from the grief to a place I recalled as normal. A place that only a week ago was void of this pain, void of this confusion, and void of this grief. I encouraged my mind to continue on its course, reminiscing about that since-past idea of normal, where had it vanished to? And throughout the last week as we, as a family, have had to process the loss of a brother, a dad, a son, and a friend, I think we have all been reminiscing about our beloved normals. And I realize that for me, at times, I have even been desperately chasing after that seemingly lost idea of normal as I long for the peace it held.
But as I delved deeper into the idea of normal, the Lord revealed to me what I was truly longing for…comfort. And so a journey for normalcy evolved into a forked road that led me down a different path, a path where the worn, crooked sign was sprawled with the letters that spelled comfort. But in moments like these where is comfort to be truly found? Where is the treasured comfort our soul seeks when it is crying out in loss-fueled grief and pain? And as I sought to answer this weighty question, I went to where I always go when I need answers that rise above the paygrade of this world and the minds that inhabit it. I went to the Word of God.
As I thought about the word comfort and where exactly I recalled God using it in his Word, I immediately thought of the 23rd Psalm. I have spent much time with this Godly poem, even to the point of writing an in depth 5 part study on its mere 6 verses. But the miracle of God’s Word is that it speaks. And when it does, it speaks specifically to the hearts that are seeking what lies within it. You see, in Jeremiah 29:11, God tells us that if we seek Him with all of our heart, He will be found. And so, in this moment as I desperately sought the comfort of the Lord, it was readily found in Psalm 23, right there buried in plain sight.
The beauty of Psalm 23 is that it is a love letter from King David to the Lord written in a contextual relationship that David knew well, the relationship between a sheep and his shepherd. Recall way back to 1 Samuel chapter 16 when the prophet Samuel was commanded by the Lord to go to the house of Jesse and anoint a new king. The new king was not found lounging comfortably in the family home but out in the fields tending the family’s sheep. A young shepherd boy that would be king and complete the very lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as a shepherd, David knew sheep well. He knew what they needed, he knew what brought them peace, he knew how to protect them and guide them, and yes, he knew how to comfort them. And so, in the 23rd Psalm we see David, in the latter years of his life, sit down and pen this poem to the Lord. But not from the viewpoint of David being a shepherd, but in David being a sheep.
One key to this Psalm is just that, perspective. You see, David had the proper and correct context of self when it came to Almighty God, he saw the Lord as his shepherd, and just as importantly, he saw himself as just a sheep. A sheep that was prone to wander, a sheep that was sure to become stiff-necked, a sheep that was utterly defenseless and in great need of a shepherd. David waxes on that the Lord brings him such ease that he can lie down, something sheep will only do when they are completely at rest, well fed, and free of danger. David says the Lord his shepherd restores his soul. The root of the word restore means to set upright, as in when a sheep has fallen and cannot right itself. If the poor beast if not set upright, it could wither and die without a shepherd to save it. And to restore a soul, David knew was the exclusive work of the Lord. And David knew the Lord’s restoration of his soul well after losing not one but two sons in his lifetime. But the second part of verse four is where the word we seek surfaces…comfort.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and you staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
Every shepherd carried a rod and a staff. The rod was a small club that could be thrown with great accuracy. A good shepherd would practice to exhaustion with their rod until they could throw it quickly and accurately to defend against predators that could threaten their sheep. The staff was a long, usually crook-necked stick that the shepherd used to guide, move, and collect his sheep. The rod and the staff can be seen as the shepherd guarding and guiding his flock.
But as I sat one early, lonely, grief-filled morning this week with this verse, the Lord revealed to me something about the use of the word comfort here. You see, David wasn’t taking comfort in two pieces of shaped wood that resided in the hands of his shepherd the Lord, he took comfort in the One that held them…and where that One stood. You see, the comfort of Psalm 23 is found in simple linear distance…that is proximity. David as a sheep in the care of his good shepherd drew his comfort in that he could glance up and see the Lord His shepherd was near.
The Lord revealed to me that comfort during tumultuous times such as these can be truly found in knowing that the Lord is not just my shepherd, but more importantly He is close…and He is here to guard, guide, heal…and restore and set my soul back to its normal God-intended position.
No matter what trial you may be enduring today, you can personally have that same comfort in knowing that the Lord your shepherd is close to you. But remember, the Lord tells us He will be found by those that go seeking with all of their heart. And hence, the comfort of the Lord is ready for the one that goes on the journey to seek it. And where are the first places you should go as you seek the Lord? Start with His Holy Word. Commit to meet Him in His wise counsel of Words each and every day. In fact, that’s why the 5 minute challenge (5MC) exists, to challenge people to spend 5 minutes a day in God’s Word for 30 days in a row. Take the challenge with the right heart and you will find God. Also, seek the Lord through committing to talk directly to Him through prayer. Yes, God made you, yes He knows your heart, but how do you expect to create and maintain a good relationship without talking Him? And as you go to Him in prayer, admitting that He is in control and you are not, don’t simply offer up one long prayer a day, but a thousand small. Also, seek him through fellowship with other believers in Christ. That is, brothers and sisters in Jesus collectively meeting to talk of life walking with Christ. Life as a Christian was never meant to be lived alone…but as a family. And this is where the family shares burdens, prays for each other, and use the spiritual gifts to strengthen the body of Christ. And lastly, seek Him through service. A tree will be known by its fruit, if you have Jesus in your heart, you will also have Him in your hands, and Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve the world around Him.
Please continue to pray for our family as we endure the dark valley of this loss. Please pray that as we continue on this hard road to recovery that we are looking up and receiving our comfort from a Lord that we know is standing nearby, His rod and staff ready to guard and guide us as He restores our souls. And as for your personal journey to overcome whatever hurdle stands in your path today, I am praying that you too can look up and see that the same Lord, the good shepherd, is nearby to do the same for you.
Praise God for tears. And praise God that one day they will be no more.
Rich blessings my brothers and sisters ~ Dan
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