Psalm Twenty-Three: Your Staff Comforts Me

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

he leads me beside still waters, 

he restores my soul.  

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  

Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me.  

Your rod and your staff they comfort me."  v. 1-4

I learned this Psalm when I was in my pre-school Sunday school class.  In unison, my class and I would chant this and the Lord's prayer every Sunday.  I had no idea what it meant, but I could repeat all of the words back to you if you asked- King James Version.  (My Sunday School teacher, Aunt Sis, as everyone called her, was THE matriarch of our church.  You did what she told you to do.  She was hard-core and awesome.)  So because I can quote it from rote memory, its not a Psalm I read often, or even think about much because it seems like such a "cliche" Bible verse. The psalm is so familiar even you, dear reader, probably skipped over reading it because you already know it so well.  

But this time when I read it, I really took my time to digest and ponder all that it means.  It is so rich in symbolism and imagery that it is not difficult to illustrate.   I always have loved Biblical imagery about shepherds and sheep because I grew up on a 30 acre sheep farm.  (Yes, I was a 4-H nerd.) I feel like I can vividly imagine what a shepherd looks like as he gazes over his flock.  I can smell the smells of sheep- wet wool and dewy grass, and straw, and yes, all the smells that come from sheep.  I know how stupid sheep are and how dependent they are on their owner.  They are defenseless- they don't even have top teeth to bite their enemies.  All they can do is eat, walk, and produce wooly fleeces.  

I love the idea that God is my shepherd.  I love that He calls me a sheep.  It puts our relationship in perspective.  I can see how much he loves me.  I can see how much I should depend on him.  

I was a sponge when I read Psalm 23 this time.  I know I may be reading into these too much, but this is what I felt God was telling me through these verses.  

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  

As in, "I'm in control of you.  When you accept all that I have and all that I AM, you're not going to feel like you need anything else but me."    

He makes me lie down in green pastures.  

 "Here you go, here are all the rich blessings I want you to enjoy.  I'll take you exactly to the places where I know you can grow the most.  We're going to sit down in this place and just rest here together for a while."

He leads me beside still waters.

 "Stay right behind me, I know where I'm going.  I know this place where we can go together and you'll feel refreshed."

He restores my soul.  

 "Remember how you felt before you were so weary?  You're going to feel that way again, because it's going to be ME that does the healing, not you."  

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  

"Follow me, and I'm going to show you the path that others before you have taken to heal.  The others that took this path remained righteous and upright because they trusted me.  They did this not for themselves, but because they wanted to honor me through their journey."

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.   

"It didn't catch me by surprise that we're in this place together.  You were following me.  I know it is scary.  I know you can't imagine what we are doing here.  I know that shadows are cold and you miss the pastures and water.  But look what we are doing.  We aren't lying down and resting here.  We're not stopping to drink.  We are WALKING.  We are moving.  Don't fear the shadows.  I placed them there so you'd stay close to me while we walk here together."

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.    

"And if you don't believe me, look what I have in my hand.  See?  It's my staff.  I know there are going to be times when you're not going to want to listen to my voice.  I know there will be times when you question why we're here.  That's when I'll gently prod you and remind you that we have better places to go together.  This rod and staff are proof of that.  I wouldn't need it if this was the place I intended on staying forever with you."

I wrote this in my Psalms Illustrated journal the night I found out that I was pregnant with Molly.  I felt familiar emotions- joy mixed with anticipation and worry and fear.  I felt the cold shadows of the valley of death creeping up behind me again.  I didn't want to hope again and be disappointed.  I trusted God with other pregnancies, and what good did it do?  It seemed pointless to imagine that this pregnancy could produce a different outcome than those that preceded it.  I think it's funny how God puts images in your mind and uses them to prod you where you need to go.  For me, it was the staff- a curly swirl that I kept seeing over and over- in the wrought iron of my clock, in the branches of a tree, in the cream of my tea when I stirred it into my cup.  Was it God telling me we had better places to go this time?  I don't know.  I should have believed Him.  What did I do instead?  I stopped reading my Bible for two weeks.  

I am such a sheep.  

      

       

Psalm Twenty-One: Answered Prayer Plus

"O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.  How great is his joy in the victories you give!  You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.  You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.


 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him- length of days, for ever and ever.


Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed him splendor and majesty.  Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.


For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the most high he will not be shaken."  v. 1-7

God, when David asked for victory and you spared his life, I wonder if he knew that by doing so, he would eventually be in the lineage of the Messiah?  How small is the scope of our requests and understanding, yet you grant them and bestow so much more than we could ever think to ask for.  Through David's victory, you gave him

 his own life, 

glory for himself, 

eternal blessings from heaven, 

joy in Your presence, 

and most importantly- added to his faith and ensured him that You are a God who loves him.  

God, may I trust in Your unfailing love in the same way that David did even before my requests are answered.  

In this illustration, I drew three little eggs that had hatched.  A few weeks earlier, I drew a bird sitting on three eggs to represent the three babies I had lost. 

 They were waiting, sitting under the protection of their Father in Heaven.  But after I read this Psalm, God changed the way that I viewed these children.  They weren't stagnant anymore and their purpose wasn't unfulfilled.  They were now all that God created them to be.  Whole and perfect and victorious.  I drew the nest like a crown- "death swallowed up in victory."  I knew that, if God never made me a mother and granted my requests like I thought He would or should, God was filling me with the joy of His presence and given me eternal blessings, and why should that not be enough?  (ETERNAL.  I can not fathom the word.  Blessings for EVVVVVVERRRRRRRRRR.)  Why am I such a complainer?        

This seems like a theme that has been resurfacing in my life over and over now.  I don't know if its discouraging to revisit old lessons and realize that what I thought I learned I do not continue to put into practice like I should, or encouraging to see these lessons again and know that God refuses to leave me unchanged.  

I've been going to a women's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings.  It is 2 hours of awesomeness-   so many nuggets of wisdom and encouragement that I barely have enough time to scribble them all down.  What was the theme this week?  Gratitude.  Of course.  Gena, our Bible Study leader was talking about "dancing on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea."  When God promised to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians, they did not believe Him until they had crossed the Red Sea.  So they waited until it happened before they started to celebrate the goodness of God.  What blessings had they missed out on by not believing God before this miracle happened, and even after it happened?  What did their faithlessness produce?  A whole generation that missed out on seeing the Promised Land.  An ingratitude for what God had done spread like cancer amongst the Israelites.   So they wandered for forty years.  I really hope it doesn't take me that long before I learn to appreciate what God has given me- all the things that I can see now and all that I won't see until I'm in Heaven.

Art Night and Psalm Coloring

Elise Carey is a missionary with YWAM and long-time family friend.  Some of my most favorite childhood memories include her.  She taught my sisters and I amazing skills like how to whistle through a straw, how to make an around-the-corner spit-ball shooter, she introduced us to the "Ben and Jerry's Party" (everyone gets a flavor, devours for a minute, timer goes off, pass to the right...until you feel like you're going to die from sugar shock....love it!)  and she instilled within our family a love for Duke basketball.  She has been a missionary all over the world and is now serving in Latvia.  When she was home in the States one year, I had her come speak to a couple of my art classes.  She posed a question to my students that I still ponder from time to time and it is this...

How can Christians use the arts to build the kingdom of God?  

Elise is a out-of-the-box thinker who uses her creativity and passion to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus.  Her answer?  A little get-together she calls "Art Night."  She invites both Christians and non-Christians, and anyone else they want to bring- to come to her apartment once a month for the purpose of creativity and fellowship.  Guitar playing, singing, painting, drawing, and of course, eating.  She even has theme night like Chocolate night, where they not only eat chocolate, but draw with it!  She's had a Mexican night, a free-trade night, and an art night by candle light.

I have always loved this idea and knew it was something that I wanted to start in my own home.  And last night was our first Art Night, and I hope there will be many to follow!  I invited a few students, alumni, and teachers on facebook.  I told them to bring anything they wanted to work on- knitting, painting, drawing, photo editing, coloring books- whatever! I made tea squares and homemade chai.  The downstairs was spic and span and I plugged in some extra lights to make sure the room was properly lit for optimal creative endeavors.  We listened to christian music via iTunes and the wonderful Christian radio stations they provide.  One student and one teacher came, but despite the lack of attendance, I think it was a complete success.  It started at 7:00 and was supposed to end at 9:00, but they stayed until 11:00, and would have gone later if the student didn't have a cinderella license.  Why why WHY did I not take pictures to share?!?!  Because I was too busy coloring, talking, laughing, and being a hostess.  The student said it was, "the best night of her entire school year."  Have I mentioned how much I miss students?

If you are a creative person, you know how important it is to surround yourself with creative people.  I miss the fellowship of the art building in college.  The critiques, the hot chocolate breaks, the encouraging comments, the urgency to create art on a deadline.  It's been a long time since I've been "an artist" rather than an "art teacher."  Two thumbs up for Art Night.

So what did I make?  I wanted to work on a project for a friend, but after the discouraging realization of  how out of shape my drafting skills have become, I opted for some good old fashioned coloring.  But not with crayons or markers.  My magnificent 132 count Premier Prismacolor Color Pencils.  I am an art geek to the core, and I LOVE my Prismacolors.  They are magic when you mix their rich waxy pigments together to form new colors over top of each other.  I sharpen them with an exacto knife and sanding block just so they will last longer.

I always wanted to add a little color to my Psalms Illustrated journal, and last night I colored 4 illustrations.  Originally, I wanted to keep the drawings black and white because I thought if I put too much stress on myself to bring them each to a finished colored state, I would never do many of them.  But as I go back and revisit them, I am finding it so much fun to add the colors that I have always imagined were already there.  I have reposted some of my colored illustrations under the "color" label to the right if you want to take a look.

I can't wait for next month's art night.  :o)  I am still buzzing from creative juices... or maybe its from the chai.

Psalm Nineteen: Heavens Declare

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." v 1-3


In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.  It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat." v 4b-6

Dear God, You have made Yourself known simply by the work of your hands.  Your creation alone shows your power and when I look up to the sky, I see how much you have under your control.  Everyone on earth can see your creation and is without excuse to know of your existence.  God, You see all.  Keep me always looking up to you, because if I am too busy focusing on the woes of life, I am going to miss something that You're trying to teach me about Yourself.

Psalm Seventeen: Apples and Shadows

"I call on you for you will answer me. Give ear to me and hear my prayer.  Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.  Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." v. 6-8
"You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for your children.  And I- in righteousness- I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness."  v 14b-15


God, I pray you hear me when I call- that your love will be so evident, that I will not question your faithfulness.  Please do not forget me, and satisfy my longing for wanting to know "why" all of the time.  I thank you for the hope of seeing all things through your perspective one day, and I know that when that time comes I will be satisfied with how You have worked everything out for good.

I love the idea of a refuge being a nest.  For me, it is the symbol for security, fruitfulness, and hope of new life.  Here I used the three eggs to represent the three babies I had lost up until this point in my life.  It was reassuring to think of them- not as unborn- but as though they were waiting for me under the wings of protection of their Heavenly Father.

And I love when the Psalmist talks about us being in the apple of God's eye.  "The apple" refers to the pupil of the eye.  When we first got Josiah, his eyes were so dark brown, they were almost black.  I would look deep into them and only see a perfect reflection of myself.  What a beautiful word picture that God loves us so much, we are what He is completely focused on.

  It is because the psalmist is focused on the face of God that, as he writes in verse 15,  he displays the character of God in his own life, and therefore is satisfied despite all circumstances that surround him.

Psalm Sixteen: My Cup is Full

"Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the LORD, "You are my LORD, apart from you I have no good thing." v.1-2
"Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." v. 5-6


Dear God, we will bear much fruit if we remain steadfast in the safety of Your Word.

NIV note in my Bible says, "The cup refers to what the host offers to his guests to drink. To the godly God offers a cup of blessing."

The three things the psalmist enjoys is
*Safety and protection now
*blessing during life
*an eternal inheritance to come

Psalm Eleven: God Loves Justice

"In the LORD I take refuge..." v.1a

"For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed what can the righteous do?" v. 2-3

"On the wicked he will rain fiery colas and burning sulfur, a scorching wind will be their lot. For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice, upright men will see his face." v. 6-7

The psalmist asks God what he can do when the enemy crushes the very foundation of their spirit. The answer is NOTHING. God is the one who will destroy our affliction with more force and punishment than we ourselves can fathom. Therefore, we should not think it is our responsibility to retaliate. In addition, God promises us a gift of seeing His face and knowing Him deeper when the attack is finished.

Psalm Seven: God is my Shield

"Oh LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me." v. 1-2
"My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart." v. 10

My enemies come in many forms- pride, doubt, hopelessness, self-pity,...

I'm glad I can hide in the Truth of His Word and His hope when times are hard
and when they are not.

Psalm Six: "God" in times of plenty, "Lord" in times of want

"O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint. O LORD, heal me for my bones are in agony." v. 1
"The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer." v. 9

I find I am more likely to cry out to God for help when I am in the most pain. I admit, like the Psalmist here, that He is in control of my life, and not myself. (It's funny how when things are going well I'm not as likely to claim God as "sovereign.") By calling Him "Lord," we are recognizing his sovereignty. Here in this passage, the Psalmist recognizes that he can no longer rely on himself for relief, and reassures himself that God does indeed hear him.

In our lowest times, we realize how far away we are from God and are in need of His mercy. Could it be that had we not reached that point, we would have never realized how much we need God?