Annie
Scriptures:
Psalm 23
Matthew 8:23-27
Acts 16:23-28
Job 19:25
Several years ago we visited Te Papa, our national museum in Wellington and saw an incredibly moving and very realistic installation that depicted scenes from World War 1. Peter Jackson, of Lord of the Rings fame, had produced it and used Weka Workshop to create the 4 metre high models of soldiers, nurses etc in settings depicting the conditions they had to go through. I was struck by the meagre rations they had to sustain them through this awful time, the displays even had the flies landing on the open cans of corned beef.
How much does this contrast with what we have been promised by our Abba Father God. As we read through the Book of Psalms and the words of the prophets of old, we hear, time and again, the writers crying out to God for His help in times of trouble. These were not cries of desperation from hearts that were unsure they were being heard, but cries of expectation that help would come, from those who knew that God heard them. They had a relationship with God that had developed as they daily walked and talked and learned to listen with Him.
King David spent so much time battling enemies who were determined to get rid of him, as well as battling his own failings and human responses to all that happened to him. Yet, through all this, he consistently turned back to God, knowing that God always heard him, always responded to him, always cared so much for him.
Psalm 23, sung or spoken by David, the one described as being a man after God’s Heart, is such a stunningly beautiful picture of how God desires that we walk with Him through every chapter of our life’s journey on this earth. David’s deep understanding of His Lord being his Shepherd came from the closeness of His relationship with the Lord God. Being a shepherd himself, he was able to paint this wonderful image, he knew that a shepherd’s main focus is always on the welfare of the sheep in his care. A shepherd will find the most lush pasture, the freshest water, the safest path for his flock. He will put his life in danger to protect them, leading and guiding them with his shepherd’s rod and staff.
The promise that God has prepared a magnificent feast for us is more than enough for us to take in. Yet, amazingly, He doesn’t remove us from our daily life to spread this laden table before us. While we are in the middle of so many battles both within our troubled minds and surrounding us in all we do, God has an extravagantly abundant banquet ready and waiting for us. In the presence of all these enemies that assail us, we are not expected to exist on meagre rations, God Himself is our sustenance, our Bread of Life who is right there in the midst with us.
As we are anointed with the Oil of Holy Spirit, how wonderfully does our cup overflow! The Life and Love of our amazing God fills us to overflowing, enriching, nourishing us by the power of Holy Spirit who dwells within us, ever with us on our pilgrimage.
With each step we take, we are pursued by our God of Goodness and Mercy, never out of His sight, never out of the sound of His voice. Whether we walk through the lush pastures or the dangerous valleys, beside still waters or torrential floods, our Good Shepherd keeps us, protects us and sustains us. He delights to feed us richly on His Heavenly banquet, as we travel through whatever it may be that we have to face, with Him, each day.
Prayer: Abba Father, the feast You have prepared is ready, laid out, waiting for us, right in the middle of whatever our enemy has conspired to throw at us. Oh, Lord God, we give You thanks and worship You that You never leave us to walk alone and hungry, all blessing, honour and glory belong to You Lord God Almighty. Amen
(After I had written these words, within a couple of days, the enemy decided to test whether I would simply write them, or truly live by them. I have been having a lesson in my need to constantly remember not to look for peace by running away from the chaos, but to seek God in the midst of it. Jesus slept in the back of the boat while the storm raged around; Paul and Silas sang praises to God while shackled in the prison cell; Job declared “I know that my Redeemer lives” when his whole world had fallen apart and declared the opposite. When all seems lost, God is still holding us, providing everything we need to sustain us as He walks through it all with us.)