He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:3 (NKJV)

Pray, Commune and Restore – Psalm 23 Series – Part 1

Go to  PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4

“That’s where he restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure, and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name.” Ps 23:3 (The Passion Translation)

 I had 3.5 hours sleep last night and needed a strong cup of coffee to get me going this morning. Nothing bad happened, I just worked into the night. And since I didn’t get enough sleep, I needed reviving. We give, we work, we create, we do, we expend energy. And the spending of our energy doesn’t come without cost. It sounds obvious, but we don’t often take the time to replenish the physical, emotional and spiritual stores that we spend so easily, and sometimes thoughtlessly, during the natural course of our lives.

The need for restoration is not a weakness, it's part of the human condition.

I believe God designed the natural world to rejuvenate us – its part of our treatment plan for the human condition; medicinal by nature (see what I did there…). In his poem, David references lush green pastures, quiet and calm waters and straight pathways, using them as a metaphor for how God impacts his spirit. God also uses creation to inject us with his presence. The sun, oxygen, ocean, walks, swimming, running, climbing, mountain tops, valleys, fields, rivers, grass, dirt… all these things in nature are proven to be good for our health, and amazing for our spirits. As I'm writing, rain is bucketing down outside. My desk is right by the door and I've flung it wide open, filling the room with its smell and sound – rejuvenation by rainfall.

A lot of us, myself included, close ourselves away in a dark, cold, small room to pray and pray and pray and then wait for answers and peace. It’s always good to pray – we pray all the time simply by opening our lives up to God. But we forget that part of prayer is getting out into wide open spaces; filling our lungs with fresh cold mountain air; putting our feet into the ocean and squishing sand between our toes. Allowing God to minister to our hearts through his second great masterpiece: creation. Sometimes, we should take our prayers, worries, thankyou’s and requests outside and let God wrap our hearts up with it. After all, he is in all things.

“The Lord is my Fierce Protector and my Pastor. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.” Ps 23:1-2 (TPT)

If you need restoring, (and unless you’ve just come back from a month long exotic holiday you probably need some… and even then…) try swapping the TV for the ocean, your iPhone for an evening stroll… When you drive past that lookout at the top of the lake on the way home from work, pull over, take 5 minutes… pray. Or if you’re at the park with the kids take your shoes off and press your naked feet into the earth, God breathed into it to create humanity. Or get up early (this might take some practice… haha) and watch the sunrise in all its splendour and warmth, kissing the world, and your body, with kindness…

He offers you a resting place, tracks of peace and brooks of bliss through it all.

OVER TO YOU… leave us a comment below!

Go to Part 2 – Places of fear and darkness can’t keep out his strength and peace »
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