Psalm 23 (part 2)
The Dream box.
There is something about dreams. Sometimes your subconscious talks to you, sometimes God talks to you, and sometimes last nights extra jalapeños pizza talks to you! I had a dream the other night that falls somewhere in that range. Since I've been studying the Psalms, it might be helpful to relate that dream to Psalm 23.
In the dream, a large box was delivered to my house. The wrapping was old and yellowed, and the return address was my childhood home. The ship date was 1965. Opening it I discovered that my father had packed up several artifacts from my teenage years, and had them put into storage to be delivered to me 50 years in the future. In the box were many things that reminded me of things we had done together, times we had been together, and reminders of how much he loved me.
Psalm 23 is sort of like that. In it our heavenly Father, our Shepherd, has packed several reminders of all the things He does for us and all the times that we have been together.
"I shall not want"- Remember all the times that the Father has provided for us. Like the psalmist, I too can say that "I have never seen the children of the righteous begging bread". Now there have been times when there wasn't all that I thought I wanted, but there has always been as much as I needed. "Still waters" yes, "green pastures", yes. In the most tumultuous times, there has been a place of still waters and in the driest of times there have been green pastures, as long as I remembered to ask the Father where to find them.
"He restored my soul" - This is the feeling that I had when I received the dream box. Even though my father has been gone for many years, that box brought back many memories of how much he loved me. It restored that sense of being loved that me soul needed. Our heavenly Father also knows how to bring those things to us that will restore our souls, bringing peace and love to our lives when we need it most. Are you experiencing tumultuous times, where you have lost your peace? Let the good shepherd lead you to the green pasture and restore your soul.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,"- I am reminded of the great hymn "It is well with my soul". That hymn was written in the middle of the Atlantic ocean at the spot where the author had lost his entire family to a ship wreck. That ship had been sunk in a violent storm, but the waters were now calm as the author contemplated his losses. How often it is that the Lord is able to restore our souls, even in the midst of the most violent upheavals that this life can throw at us. "When sea billows blow.... It is well with my soul." Can you find the Lord's peace, even at the place our your biggest loss, and trust Him even in the darkest depths of the valley of the shadow of death?
"I fear no evil, for You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." - Some of the things in my dream box reminded me of how my father had protected me. A farm can be a dangerous place with treacherous mechanical equipment and temperamental livestock. My father taught me how to be safe around farm equipment and gave me a large black dog that watched over me whenever I was in the pastures with the livestock. I also have his old cane, that he used like a shepherd's staff to prod the cattle in the way that he wanted them to go. It is a strong cane that you can lean on, and is a comfort and a protection in times of trouble.
"You prepare a table"- Another thing that was passed down to me from my parents is the old dining room table. This table is a marvel of American ingenuity that folds up to fit into a corner, but expands out to be able to feed a dozen hungry farm hands. Oh what feasts we had spread out on that table at harvest time and holidays! Our heavenly Father likewise will provide a lavish feast for us, to provide for us abundantly, even in the presence of our enemies. Perhaps even particularly so in the presence of our enemies, so that the Lord can demonstrate his loving kindness, not only to us, but also the the hosts of the enemy that would seek to starve and destroy us. Thank you father for the bountiful provision and the table of feasting.
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me..."- My final observation doesn't come from my natural father, but from one of my fathers in the faith. He tells of a pastor that we know in Guatemala that was threatened by the local witch doctor and his acolytes. After many days, they had done nothing, so the elders of the church asked the witch doctor's men why not. They responded, "Yes, we are going to kill your pastor, just as soon as those two giants with swords, who stand at the door of the church compound every night, leave. Then we will kill your pastor." Surely goodness and mercy will follow me, all the days of my life.
So then, my prayer for you is that you might receive your dream box, and unpack all the things that remind you of your Father’s love for you.
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