Simple Pleasures

Why does life get so complicated that we allow the most precious moments we have to pass us by so quickly? This week the Lord is reminding me that He wants me to spend time in His presence. No, He doesn’t want me to sing to Him. And no, that is not because my voice hurts Him--he actually loves my singing (if you can believe that!). He is not asking me to spend more time reading His Word, though He knows how beneficial that can be. He is, however, asking me to simply hang with Him. As a father, I can relate with His request. I love when my kids just want to sit and talk. Or maybe we even just sit there on our porch swing, not even saying a word, but just watching the sunset, allowing it to warm our hearts. Just yesterday, I was talking to my son Noah and, though he may drive me crazy at times, he is such an impressive young man. As I sat and listened to him ramble about what was going on in that simple and yet complex mind of his, I came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter what he was saying or how much sense he made. The only thing that I cared about is that my son wanted to talk to me. My son took time away from wanting to play video games, eat food, play with our doggy, read, play outside and whatever else to spend time with his dad. Man, did that make me smile!

I believe our Lord feels the same way. When we come to Him, we do not have to say everything correctly, wear the "right" type of clothes, or even make sense out of the ramblings of our heart. He just loves that we long to be with Him.

This may sound very strange, but I am much more comfortable with all of the ritualistic ways that I have relationship with the Lord than I am with just spending time with Him. Growing up in church since I was 7 years old, and pastoring for the last 15 years, has taught me that the main ways to approach God are through worship, prayer and reading His Word. There is nothing wrong with these forms of spending time with the Lord, but they can be very limiting to a deep relationship if we cannot press farther than the guidelines of religiosity that we have learned.

Let me explain: Have you ever thought about heaven? There are many people who think heaven is going to be so very boring because all they are going to do is worship and sing the whole time. This type of thinking spawns from the idea that God is only approachable through certain forms or methods. What if spending time with the Lord could come in the form of fishing and enjoying nature, sitting and reading a good book together, watching a football game, eating a great meal, or going for a run? This all may sound like the Virginia air has officially broken down my mental capacities, but I assure you, it is quite the opposite. I have never in my life had things laid out so simply.

The only life that is worth living will be found in surrender to the Lord. It truly does not matter what we face as long as we are resting in His loving arms.

Psalm 23 A psalm of David.

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

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 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.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

I have read this scripture so many times and I am not sure until today that I have truly understood most of it. This scripture is probably one of the most read and memorized scriptures in all of the Bible, but is also probably one of the most ignored.

Let's just begin with the first verse. "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want."

Have you been in want? I hate to say it, but I can't say that I have been around a human being--including myself--who knows how to do this. Our biggest problems in life stem from these corrupted desires that sink into our hearts and then are slowly rationalized by our mind until they give full birth to action. If we could just be content with our Good Shepherd, then our lust for things would stop hurting those we love and causing damage to our own personal lives.

Though we could spend a lot of time just talking about the first verse, today's teaching is more focused on verse 2.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet water, He restores my soul."

This scripture is not about religious attempts to know a distant God. This scripture is about an intimate relationship that has no bounds. It is about a God who loves you the most and a God who loves me the most. Due to some life circumstances, I have had to face some personal insecurities that I thought I had buried so deep no one would ever find them. They were buried so deep that I actually thought they did not exist. Boy, was I wrong! Not only do they exist, but they actually seem tired of not being able to express themselves, and are fighting to make themselves heard. My first response to these insecurities was to try to push them back down in the grave I tried to bury them in years ago. Then I tried to fight them with all of the wisdom and strength I had... yes, I lost that battle quickly. As I was coming to the end of my strength and sanity, the Lord, once again, as He has done so many times in my life, invited me into His chambers and, with all of the love that I know of, asked me if I was finished. What could this mean? Was I finished? Did this mean I was too weak to complete the task at hand? He then went on to ask if I was finished trying to convince myself, my family, my friends, my church, and my God that I was strong enough to hold myself together. And He was right! I was finished! He then reminded me that all that was required of me was to sit at His feet and He would give me the strength, peace, hope, joy and anything else that might be needed to face life's circumstances.

I am here today to tell you that the Lord is my Shepherd. I am doing all I can to not want for anything but Him. I am relaxing in His presence in the greenest pastures that I have ever lived in. And yes, He is restoring my soul!