The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. Psalm 23:1-3.

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world.” John 18:36.

The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . . For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:20-21.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. Psalm 28:7.

I loved this today from Hearing God by Dallas Willard: “Reading Psalm 23 helps us surrender fears and refocus our entire being on God’s kingdom. First you find information, which you may not automatically transfer to yourself. You may say, “This was true just for David, the psalmist.” But you might sense a yearning that it may be so, saying, “I wish the Lord were my shepherd; that the great God would have the care and attention for me that the shepherd has for his sheep!” And as you meditate on the psalm, affirmation may arise (“It must be so! I want it to be so!) and then appropriation (the settled conviction that it is so, that it is a statement of fact about you). This last movement, appropriation (a declaration of triumph), must not be forced or faked. The ability to make this statement will be given as you watch for God to move in your life.”

Looking out this morning at the sky took my breath away! Blue clouds rimmed with gold and beautiful light. Creator God – Father…Son…Spirit, created that! He created the faithful rhythms our lives depend upon. He created us to find that our greatest treasure is His love and joy! And in His love we are healed and helped through every difficulty, every sorrow, every need. And our chapter, Isaiah 35, shows us glimpses of what will be when Jesus returns because we need that hope. We live in the not yet of before He returns where there is brokenness in me and others and darkness covers our hearts and minds so we can’t see past the confusion. The light of His truth will break through like the beautiful dawn each morning. The cloudy overcast skies mirror the sadness and emptiness we experience alone without Him. And God is faithful. Every sunrise and sunset speaks to God’s faithful care. The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

The Lord is my Shepherd…and He longs to shepherd you. And He who created all things died for us so we could live with Him. He was resurrected to Life to show us the Way…the firstborn among many brethren. I don’t fear death and I’m learning with Him not to fear this life of sorrows and deep confusion. How? Because I was lost and now I am found and my abundant life is in Him with me. He rescued me from the confusion and darkness…and He is here to help you see the truth of His love and His joy. Hold fast to Him and find your Life.