Following God in the Midst of a Storm

God has called us as a church to a challenging and exciting task: Helping others discover a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Those "others" include our friends, family members, the people down the block, in the next town, in the next county and beyond the borders of our own nation. In fact, when I ponder the call that God has our church, I'm a little overwhelmed. Throw on top of that the national economic uncertainties that we dealing with and I find myself at a loss to see how things are all going to work out.

I'm sure that you've felt the same things, perhaps about the church or your own household.

That's why I am so glad that what the Lord wants me...and us...to do is simply obey him day by day. The cultivating of that close relationship with Jesus so that we can understand what it is he wants us to do today is important. In fact, its the only certain way to navigate in these tumultuous days.

I find myself pondering the words of Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes my lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides 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 love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I want you to notice some of the things that the sheep experiences: green pastures, quiet waters, a prepared table, an overflowing cup. These are things that we all desire, but notice that there is also a valley of the shadow of death, the presence of enemies, and evil. These things come as well. The secret to surviving and even thriving is the shepherd. The sheep's responsibility is simply to stay with the shepherd. The shepherd knows what to do, where to go, and how to cause the sheep to thrive.

What a comfort in these days to know that all we need to do is to stick by the shepherd's side, doing what he wants us to do, and he will see that our needs are met and that we will dwell with Him forever.