Thought for Today
Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalm 65:11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
Matthew 6:28 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
Philippians 1:9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight
As I look out the window at the field behind our home, I see a multitude of various shades of dull and drab. It is truly winter. I moved quickly this morning, as I scurried out to get the newspaper off our driveway. Then, once inside, I opened my copy of These Days, and read the verse above from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi.
Quite frequently, I see God’s bounty overflowing in nature, in the beauty of the flowers and trees all around us. That is a bit hard to do in the winter, especially this far north. Further north, in those places where the earth is coated with a blanket of snow, there is a majestic beauty in the pure whiteness of everything. Further south, particularly in the Texas of my earlier days, many trees and shrubs remain green throughout the winters.
Yet, tomorrow is Sunday. Every Sunday, and most weekdays, I am constantly reminded of God’s bounty, of the overflowing of goodness all around us. Even in the darkest, dullest and most drab months of winter, God’s bounty in Creation still abounds. Sometimes it helps to remind me if I drive to the beach and look out over the waters. On Sundays, Greta and I take a route to church which takes us over a bridge at the mouth of the Parker River. Even in winter, with all of the boats out of the water and those close by wrapped in plastic, there is still the majesty of the flowing river. If we choose, following worship, we can take a short drive to view the mouth of the river at Plum Island Sound.
All of this is only a part of how our Creator God chooses to reveal Godself to God’s creatures. Theologians speak of ‘general revelation,’ “God’s self-disclosure and self-communication in the universe and created world. Theologians have debated whether faith is necessary to perceive this revelation and in what ways it is accessible to those who are sinners.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 240)
In that dictionary, I did not find any reference to what I think of as personal revelation. God reveals Godself to me personally. When I think of that, I inevitably think about the 23rd Psalm. For me, that entire psalm is a song of God’s revelation.
Most Christians first learn the 23rd Psalm in our youth, maybe in Sunday School. Many, like me, received a gold star for memorizing and reciting that psalm which is attributed to David, Israel’s beloved king. David’s life is itself a fascinating story of faith, of falling, of trial, tribulation and exultation. David experienced victories, defeats, triumphs and tragedies. Through it all, David remained faithful to God.
David first appears to us as the youngest of Jesse’s sons, the one left behind to mind the sheep while everyone else went off to meet with the prophet Samuel. I cannot help but wonder how David felt about being left behind. In the end, it was David whom Samuel recognized as the ‘once and future king.’
It should not surprise any of us that David’s psalm of praise, begins with “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Most days, I feel the same. I find in my own life God’s shepherding of me, leading me beside the still waters, restoring my soul. Has everything always gone my way? Of course not! Has everything always been positive and good? My life has been just like everyone’s life, full of ups and downs, full of stumbling and fumbling. But, my life has always been lived with the assurance of “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-“ God has revealed Godself to me individually and personally, just as God does for all who listen for God. “Luke 11:9 Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”
Stay safe, find God all around you and in you, trust God,
Pastor Ray