I made a to-do list today.
One for God and one for myself.
His was super long. Mine had only three things on it.
And before you ask…
It wasn’t me.
I did not come up with it. It all started with Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ,
He makes me lie down in green pastures, …
and so on.
Psalm 23 is a well-known psalms and you’ve probably heard it many times before.
I have too.
The other day I was reading it without paying much attention.
Nothing new… I thought.
Until I noticed all the verbs in it. The so called action words or ”do-words”.
Psalm 23 is full of them.
As a lover of lists, you understand I had to list them all up. Et voilà, the to-do list.
But as it turned out most verbs were meant for God, and only a few for me.
For you and me, that is.
It starts with us: I shall not.
Which is basically telling us what not to do. Not very fitting for a to-do list.
But anyway.
On to God’s list:
God makes and He leads. He restores.
He leads some more.
God is and He guides.
He comforts.
He anoints and pursues.
He protects and prepares.
All of that!
Then it’s back to us. The second thing on our (not) to-do list: is I will not fear.
And then we dwell.
Really, that’s all there is for us.
I shall not want,
I shall not fear,
I will dwell.
The end.
Have you been dwelling lately?
Or have you been fixing, preparing, worrying, doing, pursuing, guiding and making?
While hoping that God would dwell.
So that He would be available for when you finally have time for Him?
I have.
Most of the time, it is exactly what I do.
I take on the things that are on God’s list and don’t pay attention to my to-do list.
Want not, fear not, dwell.
How can I sit back when life is overwhelming or chaotic?
I looked at the lists once more, especially God’s list.
And I tried to come up with anything I might need that would not be covered by God. By everything He does.
Anything at all.
And there was nothing I could think of.
Can you?
Let’s dwell, shall we?
But how can we dwell when everything around us is falling apart, you might ask.
When life is hard, disappointing, or simply frightening?
David, who wrote Psalm 23, knew what it meant to live with danger, disappointment, and uncertainty.
His life was not dweller-ish at all.
Yet he said: I shall not want, I do not fear, and I will dwell. Because he knew that he could trust God.
I still find it difficult to get over the enormous imbalance in our lists, but I think David understood that God measures differently.
A seemingly imbalance to us is the perfect balance for God.
The perfect balance for us, to find peace. To rest.
To dwell.
So, determined to stick to my very short to-do list, I read the psalm again. And you know what? I didn’t even make it through verse five. Let me show you:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. (I like this.)
He leads me beside still waters (Yes, please.)
He restores my soul (Love this too. This is easy.)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me: (Wouldn’t mind skipping the valley, but okay. You’re with me.)
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Protection and comfort. I’ll take both.)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…
And here I go…:Oh no, God, not the enemies! That’s not what I want! Your table, absolutely, but not with my enemies.
Can I not just sit at your table in Your presence alone? Just You and me? No enemies?
So long, for I shall not want. I wanted something different. I had a ‘better’ plan.
But in life, the enemies are there.
Diagnoses, disappointments, pain, difficult people, uncertainties, losses, and loneliness.
Suffering is real.
But so is the table.
And so is the One who prepares the table.
So let’s dwell, while the Shepherd is at work.
2 comments
Very well said Ruth, its indeed so wonderful, we have to do so little, He does everything. But even the little: dwelling and sitting at His feet is challenging. Thanks for the encouragement!!
Your list of “enemies” is really helpful, Ruth. These are NOT the enemies that immediately come to mind when we read the word, but they are the enemies to our “dwelling!” I value your insightful blog.