Faith mind fight

Lately my thoughts have been

turning to Psalm 23.

It is so familiar,

and yet so easy to forget.

“The Lord is my Shepherd,

I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul.”

Even though our lives

are chaotic, stressful,

and at times, 

our hearts and minds

feel messy,

we have this amazing claim

to be still in the mess, in the race.

We can close our eyes 

and feel the light of Jesus 

touch our face,

just as we long for the warmth and light of the sun

in a Northern Winter.

There, we can meet him,

and walk with him.

we can hear the stream move

over the rocks,

we can feel the cool, thick grass under our bare feet,

we can enjoy the giant, towering trees

standing sentinel 

around us, but most importantly of all…

we walk next to the Prince of Peace,

our friend, our saviour, lover of our souls,

Jesus. 

We stop,

we sit with him

on the bank of the stream.

The grass is slightly damp, but soft.

We look at the flowing water and we watch the light 

glint off of it. 

We take in nature’s twinkling gems

and we breathe in the fresh air.

We look to the man beside us

and he looks at us,

we smile at one another.

His eyes are filled with love and peace.

We are wrapped in this silent acceptance,

this silent love.

The fullness of love and promise

fills out hearts and minds,

reminding us that our purpose in life

is simple:

to be loved by God, by Jesus.

And to love him with all of our hearts, minds,

souls, and strength,

and let that love spill out on anyone in our vicinity.

In kindness,

in smiles, in patience. 

We touch people around us in the small ways,

as the peace, love and acceptance

our Lord has for us,

flows from us,

just as the stream flows over the rocks.

We open our eyes

and we are still here, in our life, in our chaos,

but we are reminded of the stillness

that we have in Him.

“Be Still, and know that I am God”

he reminds us.

It is a gentle whisper, not a rebuke.

It is an invitation, not a demand.

Be still and close your eyes,

breathe and enjoy

His presence. 

**see psalm 23, Deuteronomy 6:5, psalm 46:10, John 6:29