“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.”
In the busy, constantly hectic, stress-filled, mishmash of life in the twenty-first century it is nearly impossible for the soul to find rest, authentic and refreshing restoration; enjoying the peaceful beauty of still waters, gazing on lush green pastures, luxuriating in non-worry life, and breathing in the calm.
Can’t always do this when life in this world simply doesn’t allow it. But it is the great mercy of God which gifts this as a necessary oasis, a glimpse of heaven before reaching her actual shores.
Possibly you have had moments in your life like this which come to mind and you are abundantly thankful for them. They whet the appetite for the fulfillment in you of God’s good promises here and beyond that River which we all must cross.
Such are rare moments which are not forgotten. They stick in your memory. They are a harbinger of life to come. God gives them that we might yearn all the more for being home in His presence.
My wife and I recently enjoyed such with life-long dear friends. It truly was idyllic, an exceptional time of intimate fellowship, tears, laughter, and combined enjoyment of God and His Son.
Pray for such as this in your own life, that soul restoration might refresh your spirit in the Lord. It gives impetus to your journey and joy to your heart, when joy is the just right elixir of abundant life.
“Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts, thou fount of life, thou light of men, from the best bliss that earth imparts we turn unfilled to thee again.”
(1st verse of Bernard of Clairvaux’s hymn, “Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts,” 1150)
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