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Words of Rest, Part Four Psalm 23 |
October 1, 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum |
About 5 years ago we took a small team from PVBC on a two-week missionary trip through El Salvador. It was an eye-opening experience. One of the things I realized, quite quickly, is that El Salvador is truly a study in contrasts.
--We were hosted by families whose lives are very similar to our own: every morning, mom and dad got ready for work while the kids got ready for school. The houses were clean and comfortable and filled with all the conveniences of modern life. I used my hosts’ computer to post daily emails on The Reflector so the PVBC Family could participate in our grand adventure. In short, we were very much at home.
--Then, after breakfast each day, we would load up in a waiting van or bus and head toward our days’ destination and within an hour, in whatever direction we traveled, we essentially went from “home” to the land that time forgot. Urban sprawl was replaced by dense jungle. Electricity and running water were nowhere to be found. Homes were now crude, single room mud or stick dwellings with dirt floors and wall to wall hammocks so a family of 8-12 people could live in a space no larger than a single room in most of our homes. And the only work anyone was preparing to do was to head out into the jungle or the family garden to gather and then prepare just enough food to meet the families’ needs for that particular day. Then, the next day, it started all over again, just as it had for generations upon generations.
Now, as you can imagine, our presence in that environment caused quite a stir. We attracted a lot of attention everywhere we went, especially from the children. They wanted to see us, talk to us, touch us and sing for us. And when we pulled out our digital cameras, snapped a few pictures of them and then showed them their images they could not contain their joy. They squealed with delight.
And, in the midst of this joyful celebration, one of our team members handed his camera to one of the children, showed him how to take a picture and then turned him loose. The little guy was an instant celebrity. In no time at all, the camera disappeared into the crowd swarming around him. And then the crowd disappeared.
But eventually both the crowd and the camera returned. And that evening our team was absolutely enthralled as we scrolled through the array of pictures the children had captured for us. In fact, we were so delighted by what we saw that we handed that camera to groups of children at each of our remaining stops and every evening we eagerly gathered together to see the newest crop of pictures the children had captured for us.
Four weeks ago, we started a journey through the 23rd psalm. My original intent was to make it a one Sunday journey, but once we got into it the journey proved to be so enthralling that we returned the next week and then the next. And, this morning, I want us to return one last time…at least, the last time for now. And we’re going to borrow a study technique from those children that I talked about earlier. I’m going to share with you the picture that captured my attention as I wandered around in this psalm, once again, this past week. I will tell you, up front, that it’s not the picture that I had intended to share, this morning. I had planned to take this sermon in another direction entirely. But once my eyes landed on this image, I simply couldn’t go any further. So, I hope this picture touches you the way it touched me.
The picture is found in the first 4 verses so let’s begin by reading them.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet 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 the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
In our previous 3 weeks we have stopped to linger in front of many of those phrases.
--We talked at length about this idea that when we are following the Shepherd we will not be in want because He will provide us everything that He knows is truly good for us.
--We talked about the joy of following our Shepherd into “green pastures…” “beside quiet waters.”
--We also talked about the strength and security we find in the Shepherd’s presence when we find ourselves moving through valleys shadowed with death.
--And we affirmed our confidence in the fact that as long as we are following the Shepherd we will always be on “paths of righteousness,” because our Shepherd would never lead us down any other kind of path.
This morning, I want us to focus our attention on a picture that we’ve not yet paused to consider. It’s a picture of the Shepherd who restores my soul. “The Lord is my shepherd…he restores my soul.” What exactly does that mean? In what sense does the Shepherd restore my soul? There are two possibilities that seem to be most likely.
--It could be that David is writing here about the ways that God works to draw us back onto the path of righteousness when we have drifted away into sin; when we have given in to some kind of moral or ethical failure. And God certainly works in our lives to do that.
--On the other hand, it could be that David is writing about the ways that God works to refresh us when we become spiritually dry, stale or anemic. David could be talking about the Shepherd restoring our souls by breathing fresh air into our worn and weary spirits.
Either meaning is possible but, in light of the fact that David introduces the idea of “comfort” in the very next verse, “your rod and your staff, they comfort me,” it seems to me that the point here is not so much moral correction as it is spiritual refreshment. And, folks, if you’ve ever gone through a period of spiritual drought…and most of us have…then you know the incredible worth of real spiritual refreshment.
Proverbs 18:14 says this, “A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?”
In his paraphrase, The Message, Eugene Petersen captures the essence of that verse like this, “A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?”
So, the point is this…
…when our spirit is alive, our soul is refreshed and our hearts are strong in the Lord we can face incredible hardship without being broken; we can absorb tremendous loss without giving up hope; we can endure great pain without losing confidence in the Lord;
…but if our soul is parched; if our heart is downcast; if there’s no wind in our spiritual sails, then even the smallest obstacle seems insurmountable, the smallest setback seems debilitating and the smallest challenge seems overwhelming. When we languish in a spiritually dry land, we can quickly fall prey to despair and discouragement and eventually lose even the will to try to do anything about it. And, folks, feeling trapped in a spiritual desert can be one of most hopeless of all of life’s experiences.
What a blessing it is to know that I can count on the Shepherd to restore my soul. But, folks, that leads me to another question—a critically important question—namely, how exactly does He do that? How does the Shepherd restore our soul? I want to answer that question both from the perspective of God’s word and also from the perspective of my own personal experience. I have wandered, from time to time, into the spiritual desert and I have experienced the restoration of my soul. And what I have learned is this—
…the Shepherd has a vast array of means by which He can restore our soul…
…He will always choose the means that is best suited for us and our circumstance…
…and ALL of His means and methods have one thing in common…they always lead to a fresh encounter with God.
Always. No exceptions. Always. The path that leads us to a refreshed, reinvigorated, restored soul always leads us to a fresh encounter with God. There is no other way to experience the restoration of our soul.
And, folks, that tells us two things, right off the bat.
Number one—it is absolutely futile to seek soul restoration from any source other than God. Absolutely futile. You cannot restore your soul by changing your environment, your circumstances, your job, your income level, your spouse or your perception of reality through drugs or alcohol. The only way to experience a restored soul is through a fresh encounter with God.
You can do some things to divert your attention…temporarily.
You can do some things that lead to having a real good time…temporarily.
You can even do some things that make you feel better about yourself…temporarily.
But there is not a single thing that you can do to restore your soul. Only God can do that. The path that leads to a restored soul always leads us to a fresh encounter with God. And that means that it is absolutely futile to seek soul restoration from any source other than God.
It also means that it is absolutely essential that we remain faithful, even when our soul is dry and parched, to those disciplines and practices that are most likely to lead us into a fresh encounter with God. Folks, to abandon the very disciplines and practices that, in times past, have led us into our most profound encounters with God, at precisely the moment when what we need more than anything else is a fresh encounter with God is a recipe for disaster. Consequently, it is absolutely critical that during those times of spiritual drought…
…we continue to pray…even if we don’t feel like it;
…we continue to go to church…even if we don’t feel like it.
…we continue to maintain close relationships with other believers…even if we don’t feel like it;
…we continue to faithfully serve God in the ministries to which He has called us…even if we don’t feel like it;
…we continue to soak in the beauty of God’s creation…even if we don’t feel like it;
…and we continue to read the scriptures and listen for the voice of God…even if we don’t feel like it;
…because it is in those very activities that…in times past…we have had some of our most profound encounters with God.
And through it all, we immerse ourselves in the promises of God.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8
“The Lord is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” Proverbs 15:29
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” John 15:7
“The instruction of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.” Psalm 19:7
Folks, here’s the bottom line:
Feelings will lead us astray.
Following the Shepherd will lead us to fresh encounters with God.
And fresh encounters with God restore the soul.
© Copyright 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum