As I was reading through Psalms the other night, I came to what is probably the most well-known chapter of the book -- Psalm 23. My mind immediately goes back to my preschool days when we were to recite this in chapel every morning before school. From then on, I could say it for memory...only in a kid-ish, monotone voice. So when I had happened upon it again, I thought that there must be more to these verses since I have found that to be true for all of the "cliche" scriptures I learned as a child.
So I decided to translate it into what it means to me now that I have a better understanding of the way God speaks to us through His word.
Ahem...
v. 1 - The Lord presides over me, so He is going to provide absolutely everything I could ever want or need.
v. 2 - Amidst the troubled world we live in, He will put us in peaceful, quiet times in order to focus on Him.
v. 3 - He guides us down the right path, placing the certain people and places in our lives so that we might share His name with others and bring glory to Him.
v. 4 - We are daily thrown into the darkness of sin and worldly pleasures that ultimately lead to eternal death, but we have nothing to fear -- God's already won this battle for us.
His guidance and control over our lives is comforting because we do not have to do it ourselves.
v. 5 - When we are faced with trials and temptations, He places the truth, different blessings, and eternal life right before us to remind us what we have in Him.
We are heirs to the kingdom. Our riches are overly abundant.
v. 6 - Goodness will surround us throughout our entire lives if we follow Him until we reach our ultimate goal of Heaven.
Of course, who knows what those beautiful lyrics of David's actually meant, but I'd like to think that's pretty close. It's comforting to me at least. :)
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Burdensome Happiness
Life is good.
Well, sometimes...
For me, it's been kind of difficult lately.
Auburn University is seriously, in my mind, one of if not the greatest place on Earth. I love everything about it. But school is t-o-u-g-h. The hardest thing I've ever had to go through. If I do not study my rear off all of the time, I won't succeed. That's a lot of pressure for a measly freshman to handle.
Not only are grades and academic success so consuming, making new relationships has become an enjoyable burden, (if that makes sense). I love all of the new friends I've made since coming to Auburn, and I honestly don't know what I would do without some of them now. But yet, even all the fun times and memory making and hanging out is quite a heavy schedule in itself.
A lot of people would say, "What has this girl got to complain about? Sounds like the good life to me!"
And they would be so right!...except for one HUGE detail...
Where's God in all of that?
Don't get me wrong, God is so evidently here it's crazy.
It's just a matter of seeing Him. Or, I guess, shoving everything else out of the way to have a clear view of Him would be a better way to put it.
I've been so easily distracted lately with everything. Something so simple as opening your eyes to see Him working is turned into this arduous task when put on top of all of life's demands.
As I was looking through my prayer journal last night, I noticed a reoccurring theme in every single prayer -- "God, guide my thoughts to focus on you, because I know when I put You first, everything else will fall into place."
That last part has seriously almost become cliche to me, but it is so so true! So much joy and a sense of ease comes into life when you do this! You would think that it wouldn't be that hard to forget...
Or that you would do absolutely anything to keep it up...
Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians to "let our lives be built on Him" -- a little more extreme than just reading those couple of verses before bedtime.
Our entire lives. I mean, He did make them...and, He did give up His for us...so it only makes sense!
He has given me so much, it's INSANE. So much that I don't even deserve...
And I can't even find the time in my "busy" day to focus on Him.
"Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." - Colossians 3:2
Well, sometimes...
For me, it's been kind of difficult lately.
Auburn University is seriously, in my mind, one of if not the greatest place on Earth. I love everything about it. But school is t-o-u-g-h. The hardest thing I've ever had to go through. If I do not study my rear off all of the time, I won't succeed. That's a lot of pressure for a measly freshman to handle.
Not only are grades and academic success so consuming, making new relationships has become an enjoyable burden, (if that makes sense). I love all of the new friends I've made since coming to Auburn, and I honestly don't know what I would do without some of them now. But yet, even all the fun times and memory making and hanging out is quite a heavy schedule in itself.
A lot of people would say, "What has this girl got to complain about? Sounds like the good life to me!"
And they would be so right!...except for one HUGE detail...
Where's God in all of that?
Don't get me wrong, God is so evidently here it's crazy.
It's just a matter of seeing Him. Or, I guess, shoving everything else out of the way to have a clear view of Him would be a better way to put it.
I've been so easily distracted lately with everything. Something so simple as opening your eyes to see Him working is turned into this arduous task when put on top of all of life's demands.
As I was looking through my prayer journal last night, I noticed a reoccurring theme in every single prayer -- "God, guide my thoughts to focus on you, because I know when I put You first, everything else will fall into place."
That last part has seriously almost become cliche to me, but it is so so true! So much joy and a sense of ease comes into life when you do this! You would think that it wouldn't be that hard to forget...
Or that you would do absolutely anything to keep it up...
Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians to "let our lives be built on Him" -- a little more extreme than just reading those couple of verses before bedtime.
Our entire lives. I mean, He did make them...and, He did give up His for us...so it only makes sense!
He has given me so much, it's INSANE. So much that I don't even deserve...
And I can't even find the time in my "busy" day to focus on Him.
"Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." - Colossians 3:2
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)