God Restores | Monday Invocation
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. He leads me in right path for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”
Psalm 23 NRSVUE
In a world where we are ignored, thrown away, or our labor and wisdom are exploited for someone else’s capital gain, Psalm 23 offers us a depiction of a God who cares for our needs when no one else does.
When we are in those darkest valleys, our focus is not on the beautiful things of the world, or the care for those beautiful things. And understandably so. We wrestle in the darkness, focusing on the heartbreaks in front of us. But know that you are also a beautiful wonder in this world that deserves that same care that we give everyone else. And that in searching for the beauty in this world - shifting our gaze for glimpses of God's light - the darkest valley loses its power over us.
God leads us to rest when we have been conditioned to forget our own needs. Our bodies stop sending us hunger or sleep cues when we ignore them for too long, but the God of Israel never fails to know our every need, providing for us by restoring our souls. God’s care may be veiled within those safe relationships and caring strangers, always sent at the right time.
God cares for us because God knows what the world, and what we, may not: we are good and worthy of care. And as a part of God’s love that never changes, that truth never changes as well. God is always near God’s beloved, offering rest.
