Page 44 - Living light - The Psalms

PRAYER FOR TODAY
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Wednesday July 17 - Your place of rest
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. Psalm 23:2-3
Some years ago, a friend and I went backpacking across Egypt, and took the ‘local’ ferry from Hurghada to the Sinai Peninsula. The ‘ferry’ was a small boat with about 25 people aboard, and with a huge swell on that part of the Red Sea, it felt like six hours on a rollercoaster! People were vomiting, passing out, and I’ve never felt so ill in my life. Everyone was out on deck because of sickness, but a picture drifted into my mind of Jesus sleeping in the back of the boat during a storm (Mark 4:35-41). I went down into the passenger cabin, put a cushion on the floor and fell into a deep three-hour sleep! My friend was so annoyed that I had slept, reminding me of the disciples who accused Jesus of not caring!
All of us would love our external circumstances to look and feel like green pastures and still waters. The truth, however, is that God is more interested in leading us to an inward condition of green pastures and quiet waters, quite simply because this kind of peace is the ‘goodness and mercy’ that follows us always and everywhere (v 6). Paul says it is a peace that ‘transcends all understanding’ (Philippians 4:7) and the psalmist calls it a joy only found in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). Whatever the storm, trust God – he will still it somehow.
Father, lead me to the stillness I need, that which can only be found in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Thursday July 18 - The comfort of his presence Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
Surely the zenith of Psalm 23 is ‘even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil’ (v 4). This speaks to the ultimate fear of humanity: not actual death, but the shadow of it. Anxiety about our mortality appears in the dread of a medical test, avoiding bereaved people, a flying phobia, previous illness, or hyper- vigilance over the safety of those we love. The result is that we do not fully live or thrive, because this shadow dims our existence.
In Psalm 23 the fear of death is dispelled by this understanding: ‘...for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.’ The touch of the shepherd’s crook would reassure the sheep in the dark or rescue them from a hole they had fallen into. God wants his presence in your life to dispel the shadow, whether of death or any anxiety that you may have. This does not mean that such fears will never appear, but, like his rod and staff, he will touch you with a peace that restores calm and confidence.
Invite Jesus into the darkness and shadow you feel today. You may have a good reason for having such fears, but you have a Good Shepherd to deal with them. He extends his staff today.
My Shepherd, I invite you into my shadows now, that your light may dispel them. Even when they persist, I know your light will always be enough. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY