Finding Rest in a Restless World

Posted by Christian St John in Faithblogs | 0 comments

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.
Psalm 23

I was reading Psalm 23 this morning and discovered a man who was finding rest in God despite what was happening around him – many believe it was written when David was on the run from King Saul who was intent on killing David to stop him taking his throne. Verse 4 clues us in to the fact that David was indeed in a bad place, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” And yet he concludes that sentence with “I will fear no evil.”

Think about this – The prophet Samuel had anointed David as a boy saying he was to be the next king of Israel. The only one willing to do so the boy David had stood up to the giant Philistine Goliath defeating him in on the battlefield. You would think that King Saul would be forever grateful that his kingdom hadn’t fallen into the hands of his enemy (the Philistines). However, he basically lost it and instead of welcoming David and grooming him to become the next King he became filled with rage and jealous and instead sought to kill David.

So David finds himself on the run being hunted down like a fox at a fox hunt, hiding out in caves and such. From David’s point of view – he had been anointed to become the next king of Israel and had stood up to that Philistine bully. He had sung for the King and yet the King wanted him dead. What a bummer! It would maybe seem to many that God had changed his mind or had forgotten David.

We’ve probably all been through times where it would seem that God has forgotten us or turned His back on us. Maybe God has called you into a ministry and even ‘anointed’ you to become a leader but it seems that nothing is happening. Maybe part of the problem is that we have become a people of instant gratification. We want it yesterday! What with fast food, microwaves, increasingly faster internet connections, movies and music on demand… oh yeah we want it and we want it NOW!

David knew that what God had said would come true. Maybe not today but eventually. Verse 5 of Psalm 23 begins with the words “You prepare…” David knew that God was now still or inactive but was indeed preparing things for such a time for when He saw fit to make David king. Maybe we need to rest in God, as David had in verses 1 thru 3, knowing He is busily preparing situations, events, times, and us for what He has prepared before the foundations of the world for us to be doing.

Bless you as you seek and wait upon Him – may you find true rest!

Chris
June 2010