Missing Nothing – Kristen Whiteley

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1 ESV 

It’s not often that I read the Bible in French, but one morning that’s exactly what I did. I began with the oft-read and beautifully familiar Psalm 23: “L’Eternel est mon berger, je ne manquerai de rien.” Literally, “the Eternal One is my Shepherd, I will miss nothing.” 

I will miss nothing? The six verses of this psalm have slipped through my lips innumerable times since I was probably twelve, sealed on my heart, and yet the nuance of this translation shifted my whole perspective of the opening lines. “I shall not want” has a very different flavor from “I will miss nothing.” 

Allowing God to guide my steps, to care for me tenderly and work for my good, warrants the blessing of fullness. To walk in step with the Shepherd is to experience life in such a way that I don’t miss anything. 

I followed this train of thought as it chugged away in my mind, and considered the pragmatic application of this truth. What about the prompting of the Holy Spirit to spend money in a certain way? To reach out and apologize to someone, though it could feel embarrassing? Instead of viewing these things as restrictive, we can see the full and better life on the other side of the Lord’s correcting or leading. Restoring fellowship leads to peace and a free heart. Giving money, time, or talent invites God to give back in tangible, unprecedented ways. 

I ponder the practices of a good friend and mentor who keeps sheep. She has an upper and a lower pasture, and she leads the sheep back and forth to keep the forage fresh as the grass cycles through grazing and regrowth. Animals that are left to graze freely in large areas tend to deplete the land over time. Through rotational grazing, the earth has time to recover, and the ruminants enjoy a fuller diet. The animals thrive as their livestock owner leads them within certain boundaries.

Lean into the Lord’s tender guidance; He will not disappoint. The Lord is my Shepherd. Truly, I will miss nothing.

Kristen Whiteley agrees with her father that poetry is a way of seeing the world. In between discipling three young children and home-keeping, she leads worship and writes as a way to process her ponderings. Kristen is passionate about creation, the cross, community, classic literature, and homesteading.

Walk-on Wednesday - Take the Oil - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Psalm 23:5b NKJV

Never had I encountered such aggravation.

Although my mom birthed me in New Jersey, I knew nothing of living there. After three months, my father was discharged from the Army, and we headed back to the lower regions of South Carolina where most of my family resided.

I’m sure I encountered these insects of aggravation soon thereafter—although I had to age a little before I understood what they were. Gnats. The most aggravating insect I’ve ever encountered. During my middle school years, when Dad moved us to Tennessee for four years, I enjoyed not having to fight with these persistent bugs which love to fly in ears, noses, and mouths.

When we moved back to South Carolina, my vacation from gnats ended. I suppose I learned to live with them because nothing got rid of them. Dousing myself with insect repellant kept them off the exact parts of my body where I put the repellant, but they swarmed in front of me and around me, looking for one spot where I had not lavished any repellant.

People not from the South think we in the South are friendly because we generally wave at everyone. What they don’t know is that often we’re just shooing away gnats.

A good shepherd, David included, knew all about aggravating insects and parasites. Although the summer grazing on the mountain summits excited the sheep, the bugs that come along with the warm weather didn’t. One type of fly entered the sheep’s nose and laid larvae in their heads. The resulting bug ran around in the sheep’s head, causing the sheep to thrash about and bang their heads against anything that might provide relief.

To prevent this fly from entering the sheep’s nose—and to keep the rams from hurting each other during mating season—the shepherd applied various oils to the sheep’s head and nose.

I’ve discovered aggravations are parcel to life. They don’t all come at one time, although sometimes they seem to bunch up, but they do appear regularly. A lost job, a low-paying job, a broken-down vehicle, a malfunctioning appliance, an untrustworthy friend, a bullying peer, an unpaid bill, an unexpected surgery, or a rebellious child or grandchild. The list seems endless.

A part of enjoying life is expecting the aggravations. They infiltrate a world cursed by sin—a world that changed from God’s original purpose the moment Adam and Eve decided to disobey His instructions. When we expect the aggravations, our attitudes don’t deteriorate so quickly when they arrive.

God also gives us the mind of Christ. Jesus always operated according to the Father’s will, never sinning despite the aggravations He encountered. Allowing His Spirit to guide and prepare us helps us face aggravations without responding in an unChristlike manner.

When we learn to live life joyfully, even with the aggravations, our cup overflows. Like the sheep who grazed contentedly because the shepherd had warded off the bugs that aggravated them, we’ll face life with optimism, knowing our Good Shepherd’s blessings will outweigh the aggravations.

Don’t let life’s aggravations cause you to miss out on God’s best for you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your oil of love that gives us strength to face life’s aggravations and keep going.

Tweetable: Are you accepting or rejecting God's oil? 

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