He Restores My Soul

“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.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

    for his name's sake.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

    your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

“You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.” (Psalms 23:1-6 ESV)

We, who are believing in Jesus Christ as Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior of our lives, are blessed of God with his grace and salvation and deliverance from slavery (addiction) to sin, and with the promise and hope of eternal life with God for all who love and obey him and who are no longer walking in sin. Our God loves and cares for us, and he watches over us, and he leads us in the right way, and he strengthens and helps us to walk in that way, too.

But we are still human beings living in flesh bodies which are vulnerable to sickness, injuries, heartaches, disappointments, trials, tribulations, persecutions, and the attacks of our enemy Satan. And one of the big ways in which Satan likes to come after us is with his lies and with doubts and fears which he tries to plant in our minds and in our hearts. But even if what he is saying to us is truth, we are not to let his attacks disturb and upset us.

For nothing can happen to us (outside of our control) that God is not aware, and that he does not allow for a purpose. For he is completely sovereign over our lives, and so the enemy cannot touch us outside of God’s control (example: the story of Job). But we must learn to recognize the enemy’s schemes against us, and we must be armored up with the spiritual armor which God supplies to fight off the enemy’s attacks (Ephesians 6:10-20).

Therefore, if the enemy attempts to plant certain thoughts in our minds which are troublesome and which might encourage us to be afraid, even if what he is whispering in our minds is true, still God is in control! So we are not to fear any evil which might be lurking around the corner just waiting to come against us. For if we are with God, and if we are following Jesus with our lives in obedience to him, he is with us, and he will see us through it.

So we face each day and each moment with the courage that comes from God, knowing that he is in control. We put our lives in his hands, and we trust that he is going to bring us through every circumstance, no matter how big or how small, or how hard or how easy. We just need to remain yielded to him always as clay in the hands of the Potter, allowing our Lord to shape us into the people of God that he wants us to be for his purposes.

Even if our enemy appears to be gaining ground against us, and even if it may appear that he is winning, he never will win, especially not in the end. For none of us wins by opposing God and by coming against his servants and witnesses who are doing the will of God. If we oppose the Lord it will eventually backfire on us, and we will lose in the end, and his servants and his messengers who obey him will be the conquerors.

So, those of us who surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, and who walk in his ways and in his truth, and who trust him with our lives, and who submit to his will and purposes for our lives, in his power and strength, are the winners no matter what we have to go through on this earth. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Heaven will be our eternal home.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Broken and Contrite  

An Original Work / May 13, 2012

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,

With humble heart and crushed in spirit.

I bow before You, I implore You,

Heal my broken heart, I pray.

Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,

You are the King of my heart.

Lord, purify my heart within me;

Sanctify me, whole within.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully

The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.

I pray You give me grace and mercy,

Strength and wisdom to obey.

Father God, my heart’s desire,

Won’t You set my heart on fire?

Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders

My walk with You, now I pray.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,

My heart cries out for understanding.

I want to follow You in all ways,

Never straying from Your truth.

Holy Spirit, come in power,

Fill me with Your love today.

Lord, mold and make me; 

Your hands formed me;

Live Your life through me, I pray.

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