A minor procedure with an estimated week recovery took the whole of July to heal. 

Check lists for the month remained undone. 

But a couple of things were accomplished : I rested, and I received. 

Surprisingly, both can be difficult to do. 

The recovery necessitated put your feet up during the demands of the day kind of rest, receiving help from family and even meals from friends.

Sometimes – in His goodness & mercy – our Good Shepherd has to make us lie down.  With tendencies towards productivity and performance, the slide towards self-sufficiency can be subtle and unknowingly leave a body (a soul) depleted and even deceived, often unconsciously operating in an “it’s all up to me” mentality. 

Whether we like to admit it or not, we often equate rest with weakness.  Yet God, in His mercy, has made us limited people – we live within the limitations of our physical bodies and boundaries. And He tells us to rest, not as a rule to follow but as a gift to receive. It is good for us – for every layer of our limited humanity – to be reminded that we are not self-sufficient.

In Psalm 23:1-2, the fact that the phrase “I shall not want“ is sandwiched between “The LORD is my shepherd“ and “He makes me lie down“ was July’s strong, yet gentle reminder for me. Not lacking the necessities of life is not because of my own abilities to task and perform and provide. Even when He makes me lie down (whether it be a tender invitation to rest or an abrupt halt due to unforeseen circumstances), I have everything I need solely because THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD.

The world, my flesh, the enemy tells me that I’m missing out – that there’s more to lay hold of, more to strive after, to keep running and going, or else… But the Word tells me that if the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need. He answers “I AM” to all of my deepest, truest longings.

I can look at the illusion of what the world presents as desirable and seek after that – long after that – or I can believe what God tells me : He will never leave me nor forsake me, and with this reality, I have EVERYTHING that I am truly in need of. He gives me the privilege and permission to be content (Hebrews 13:5-6).

When He orders rest for us, He is not withholding His best from us : “You, LORD God, are a sun and shield, You give grace and glory; no good thing do You withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). He is protecting us, not keeping something from us. He tells us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and we will not miss out on the best He has in store (Matthew 6:33). Namely, Himself.

“Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who see the LORD lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:9-10).

We are not missing out if we are resting in Him. His rod and staff protect us and comfort us and reign us in from danger and destruction (sometimes self-imposed). And then we watch Him set the table for us – often using His people, like the “meal train” that was set up for our family – providing and preparing the overflowing feast (Psalm 23:5).

I do not believe that the pace of life we keep dictates the rate at which the Lord’s goodness and mercy follow us (Psalm 23:6) …

however, perhaps this occasional slowing down positions us to receive His goodness and mercy in measures we could not fully experience otherwise, when keeping the fast & furious pace.

Instead of resenting the slowing, I can receive it as a gift – a gift of recalibration of my heart and mind, my body and strength, to set my sight on what really matters, what is really true.

In reality, I am always dependent upon the Lord for everything in life – I just do not always acknowledge that. Weakness reminds me (requires me) to remember. Therefore, despite the discouragement, I can be truly encouraged when I face seemingly side-lining limitations that redirect my wandering gaze to Him, the sole Provider of everything that I need.

If we experience the hope of God and the love of God (Romans 5:3-5) and the power of God (2 Corinthians 12:9) most fully in our weakness, it’s a wonder we resent it so much. On the contrary, we can honestly view the boundaries He sets up for us – in His wisdom – through the lens of thanksgiving, instead of bitterness.

“You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high: I cannot attain it” (Psalm 139:5-6).

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for Your gentle and unmistakable (though, if we’re honest, sometimes undesirable) reminders that in YOU “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a).

The forced slowing – to refocus and recalibrate, to restore and refine – proves Your love and care for us, not the opposite. You are patiently committed to our sanctification – it is Your will for us, and it is Your work in us.

With that procedure I had on the last day of June, I was hopeful to put it behind me, turning the calendar page with gusto and ready to tackle my long list of to-dos! Instead, I had to lay down my expectations of aspirations – and even celebrations – and receive the things the Lord had in store for me – better things.

He had already been carrying me with Psalm 23 as I limped through July. And then, on my birthday, He had this Scripture passage waiting for me – previously printed on copy paper at the beginning of the month – like a beautiful package to unwrap :

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Right there, in His Living Word, I felt the Lord holding me and reiterating what He had been reminding me all month –

He shepherds me; He is good; He has given His life for me, an unworthy sheep.

What other gift could I ever desire? On my birthday, or any day? What else in this life could I really possibly need?

“The LORD is my shepherd. I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1