March 5, 2009 ~ Shepherd’s Psalm, pt. 3
He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
~ Psalms 23:3
Oh, how He restores the soul! There are times when our souls grow weary, are mournful, or weakened by what assaults us through the course of life. Been there? Done that? Me too! Yet – oh happy day! – we needn’t stay in that unhappy condition because He longs to restore us to the purest joy in Him. And I think the answer to a restored soul lies in the next sentence.
He guides me in paths of righeousness for His name’s sake.
We don’t talk a lot about righteousness these days. I suppose we fancy ourselves too sophisticated for such antiquated notions as righteousness. It’s far more popular in the modern Christian community, to pick and choose the scriptures to follow, to leave out the ones that challenge our self-centeredness – and embrace only those that make us “feel good.” Still, when we follow closely to Christ, know the leading and correction of the Shepherd’s rod and staff, and discipline ourselves to obedience of His Word and His commandments, we truly do find the peace and rest we’ve been seeking. Life will likely still assault us, but we will learn to relax and breathe deeply in the knowledge that we are following Him on the paths that He chooses for us - the paths of righteousness.
And isn’t it interesting to read that there are paths of righteousness? That’s plural. As in, more than one path of righteousness. This reminds me of a few camping trips that our family took when our sons were young. Typically the park’s information station would offer maps of the park, complete with hiking trails. And if there was a notable view, historic site, or popular trail destination, the hiking trail map often showed various routes to the same place. There may be a challenging hike that takes the hiker uphill and past glorious views not seen by those who choose to take a shorter hike covering flatlands and well-marked footpaths, or even a roadway for those unable to make the trek by foot. They’ll get there faster, but will miss the grandeur of wild nature along the way. No one trail is really better than they other - they still lead to the same place – they’re just different. Whichever way the Shepherd leads us, we must be obedient and follow closely, knowing that He always has our best interest in mind and a plan for our lives.
It is just up to us to trust that He knows the way, and to follow after Him.
