Bible Reading: Psalm 23
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1)
At times I struggle to find words to write. Yet, within, my heart is full of joy and abiding peace. This comforting rest is not a made-up emotion or a temporary high. It is a grounded peace knowing that God is leading and my life is in His will. Blessed are those who know they are walking in God’s will.
Jim Elliot wrote of exceeding joy in his diary as his ship sailed off to Ecuador. After long years of struggle and wrestling with God’s will, God opened to him that he was to go to Ecuador, to be a missionary to unreached people. Although he had to leave his family and friends behind in America, leaving for Ecuador, Jim testified a surpassing joy and fullness in life knowing that His steps are safe in God’s will.
This kind of peace is not for everyone. It is only for those who walk with the Lord. It is for those whose face is fixed on God’s will alone. It is for those who have no purpose but to labour in obedience to God. They know no other way. The world has no glimmer to them. Their eyes are fixed on eternity, on the true glory, Christ Himself.
If we see Jesus’ life, His days all led to one climax, His ultimate calling — to die on the cross. This was Jesus’ obedience to His Father. This was the purpose of His life on earth. Likewise, God will lead His children to fulfil a specific calling in each of their lives. Paul was called to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. We see that Jim Elliot was sent as a missionary to the Auca tribe. What is our calling as individuals before God?
We must all struggle with this question in prayer and God’s Word. He will reveal such to us in His good time. Our life has no other purpose than to fulfil this calling that God has given us. When we walk in obedience to Him, following His precise will for each of us individually, we will find there is nothing that we lack and nothing more than we want than to walk with Him from now until forevermore.
David, who wrote Psalm 23, surely understood this. May this well-known Psalm be our prayer once again.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 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.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
