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 quiet waters. He restores my soul.’

~Psalm 23:1-3a, (New American Standard Bible)

Many years ago, my husband was, one might say, ‘in the business’ of automobile restoration. He didn’t do it as a side job for extra income. Nor was it just some nice man-hobby to alleviate boredom. It was actually something my husband took pride in and found great joy in doing. 

He would intentionally seek out old, broken down muscle cars. Cars forgotten; unwanted; unusable; cars thought to be beyond repair & abandoned by their owners. These were the vehicles my husband would delight in finding, obtaining and restoring. He put a lot of time, thought, effort, hard work, cost, and yes, even love into returning these machines to their original state of beauty and usefulness. 

And more often than not, after his work was completed, family, friends, neighbors and even just curious passersby would remark that these cars actually looked even BETTER than when they first rolled off the assembly line! I could tell by the look on my husband’s face that he was pleased by their accolades, and that he felt the same way about his ‘masterpieces’ as well. 

These memories popped into my head after a recent reading of Psalm 23. Odd analogy as this might seem, isn’t this just how the Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, works in us?

He intentionally seeks us out; we who are broken, abandoned, forgotten, unwanted, hopeless souls, feeling we are no longer of any use or purpose. Souls emptied of peace, now filled with anxiety. Souls emptied of joy, now filled with sorrow. Dry souls. Angry souls. Unforgiving souls. Souls once brave, now fearful. Souls diseased by sin and doubt, hatred and prejudice, and so much more. Souls in need of healing and restoration. 

His restoration. 

And it’s our Good Shepherd’s delight to carry us back to His workshop, and with much thought, time, effort, great cost, hard work and most of all, enormous love, to restore us from the inside out. 

Not just to our original state of beauty and purpose, but to something much more, much deeper; to someone who will cause others around us to take notice and see us as being even better than we were before! And I’m certain that just HAS TO bring Jesus great joy over us, His masterpieces. 

I wonder if you, like I did for years, view Psalm 23 as a psalm of lamentation, generally reserved for reading at someone’s deathbed, or a dirge to be sung at funeral services. 

If so, I’d like to challenge you to set aside that view, and to take some time (something we all have an abundance of lately) to read through Psalm 23 with fresh eyes and an open heart. Taste and see and experience the life and the joy woven throughout this psalm.

Today, let the Lord be your Shepherd, making certain that you want for nothing. Let Him make you to lie down in green pastures. Let Him lead you beside quiet waters. 

Today, let Jesus, the Good Shepherd, restore your soul. 

Giving God 7 Days

"I want God, not my idea of God." ~ C.S. Lewis

How much do you want God? And what would you give to show Him how serious you are about wanting to know Him and about having a relationship with Him; to experience His presence in your life; to hear His voice; to feel His hand upon you, daily leading and guiding you?

Would you give God a few moments of your time? Would you give Him a day or two...or three?

In these days of ALS ice bucket challenges and gratitude challenges sweeping through social media, let me throw another challenge your way, along with this question:

Would you give God 7 days?

Starting today, Lisa Whittle, author of the book 'I Want God: Forever Changed by the Revival of Your Soul', due to hit bookstore shelves on October 1st, is offering a FREE pdf with 7 days worth of devotionals, Scripture on which to meditate, reflective questions for you to answer, and some daily steps to take to walk with God in a new way.

You don't need to 'tag' anyone nor do you need to let everyone on social media know that you've completed each day's worth of devotionals and questions -- unless you feel moved to do so. Consider this a personal journey, one between you and God. So what you do with this challenge, should you choose to accept it, is completely up to you.

Interested? Intrigued? If you care to join me and so many other women who've already committed to giving God 7 days, here's your link to the page where you can sign up (and hey -- while you're there, why not check out what other folks like Sheila Walsh, Mark Batterson and Mary DeMuth are saying about 'I Want God,' and consider pre-ordering it?):

http://lisawhittle.com/i-want-god/

Soul revival is coming. Mine and yours. Are you ready for it?

Empty To Be Filled

Today, I was given a slight reprieve from the waves of depression that have been knocking me down these past few weeks.  I was able to step out from beneath the clouds and out into the warmth and light to write just a wee bit of what I'm experiencing on this dark journey. 


It feels good to be able to write something -- ANYTHING -- again and to be able to just breathe.....


My mind is empty --
Fill it with Your truths 
and promises from Your Word.


My heart is empty --
Fill  it with Your deep love 
and compassion.


My spirit is empty --
Fill it with Your hope, joy
and Your perfect peace.


My soul is empty --
Fill it with You.

 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. ~ Psalm 81:10

Come To The Well

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."   The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." ~ John 4:13-15


I was listening to K-Love on the way home from an errand recently, and once again, something one of the radio personalities said really hit home for me. 


He spoke of how at times, we as followers of Christ can go through 'dry seasons.'  I quickly reached over to turn up the volume on my car radio to be sure I could hear every word this man said, because right now, I feel as if I've entered into a dry season.  Just that very morning, before I left my house, I stopped what I was doing and whispered out loud,


"God, where ARE You?  Please tell me, please....talk to me!"


I heard nothing.  I received no response.


I actually wanted to cry, but I couldn't.  And I just felt so -- empty.

The man went on to say that at times, we may find ourselves feeling alone and empty, and even wondering where the Lord is because we can no longer hear His voice. 


Umm....having just said and felt that less than an hour before, that REALLY caught my attention. What was going on here?


He continued by saying that this is because very often, we find ourselves stopping at wells we have no business visiting. Wells whose water has long since dried up. 


We come thirsty.  And we leave thirsty.  Every time.


Much like the Samaritan woman -- the Woman at the Well.

Woman At The Well, by C. Michael Dudash

One of my most favorite Bible stories/characters is the woman at the well.  She is one of several  'Bad Girls of the Bible' to whom I can relate quite well, having been a former 'bad girl' myself for many years. 

Jesus is heading back to Galilee and, exhausted from the trip, sits down to rest at a well in Sychar, a village in Samaria, while His disciples go into town to buy some food.  A Samaritan woman comes alone to the well to draw water.  According to various books and articles I've read, groups of women would take their empty jars and come to the village well early in the morning, when the heat was not as intense as it was at the noon hour.  But according to Scripture, this woman comes at noon.  

And she comes alone. 

Perhaps to avoid the dirty looks and mean-spirited whispers from the other women, because as we learn later, the Samaritan woman at the well is no sterling character.  She already has five husbands under her belt and is currently working on number six. Or maybe not.  Maybe by now she's thrown the hopes for love and commitment to the four winds and is just content to hook up and hang out with the man.  

Yet I'm certain that something in her still longed for something more. Something meaningful. Something good and true and right and perfect in her life.  She is desperately thirsty.  Desperately dehydrated.


While the actual, physical well she frequents provides her with tangible water, figuratively she is going to wells that are empty; wells whose waters have long since dried up.

And that's what really gets to me, what hits me hardest.  I can relate to her search for something more and meaningful; something good and true and right and perfect.  I'm desperately thirsty, desperately dehydrated.


Because lately, I've been paying visits to wells that are empty, where the waters have longs since dried up. 

Last week, I wrote about the various challenges, trials and difficulties in my life that I've been dealing with lately, how the Lord wants me to view them as gifts from Him, in order for me to place all my dependence upon Him, and that I don't need to go it alone because He is always with me in the midst of it all.


Yet, while I KNOW all of this, applying it to my life is a different story indeed.  Getting that head knowledge to make its way down to my heart can be easier said than done for me. 


Jesus is an endless wellspring of Living Water, and He lets the woman at the well know as much.  And she responds by pleading, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never get thirsty nor have to come [continually all the way] here to draw." 


Jesus has let ME know as much, too.  Yet why have I ignored Him and instead, chosen to go to the dry and empty wells?Wells like coffee, chocolate and fast food/junk food -- things I run to for comfort and to fill my feelings of emptiness.

Wells like Facebook and yes, even this little blog of mine, which I've turned to again and again for validation, acknowledgment, reassurance and acceptance when I find I'm dry, panting and running on empty. 


I wish I had an answer.  But I don't.  Just a bucket full of lame excuses.


Currently, I've removed myself from Facebook and have also removed those comfort food and drink distractions from my life for awhile. And believe it or not, I really haven't missed them (esp. FB).  Yet, my Bible has lain unopened and unused for many days (it's SO much easier for me to hit up Bible Gateway online to look up various Scripture verses that I've recently used here).  I've moved it around from tableside to bedside, much like I used to do with the food on my plate as a kid, to make it appear that I'd eaten what was put in front of me.  My lame excuse has been,  "I'm just so busy and I'm just so exhausted at the end of the day!" It's so much easier for me to just grab a quick devotional on the run or to watch Dr. Charles Stanley or David Jeremiah on TV while I'm folding laundry.  


But really -- who am I kidding?


I've been so dry and parched in my soul, I feel like I may just crack into a million pieces and blow away.  I'm still so thirsty.  I'm spiritually deydrating. And I NEED water.  Living Water, which can only come from one Source.  The Word of God.


Very early this morning, I woke up to Jesus' still, small Voice beckoning me:


Come to Me, beloved.  Come and stand before Me.  You say you want to hear from Me -- then read My Word.


Let My Word nourish, hydrate, cleanse and refresh you.  Let My Living Water wash over you and bring you back to life.


Saturate yourself in My Word.  And I WILL speak to you, loud and clear, lovingly, tenderly, through each and every word you read.


Can I tell you how very quickly I jumped up, put the light on and grabbed for my Bible, which was lying next to me on the bed? I think I may have scared my poor dog out of a sound sleep.


I can (and have) surrounded myself with so many things -- not all good, not all bad.  But only one thing matters -- Jesus, my Wellspring of Living Water.  I can (and have) surrounded myself with and delved into so many different books by various Christian authors.

Yes, these are just SOME of the books you might come across should you pay a visit to my room.
Not to mention the ones sitting on the shelves in my living room, my basement and on my
front porch AND the two boxes and one tall kitchen bag overflowing with books in the back of
my car that I am attempting to give away to someone...anyone! Oh PSF....where art thou?!

But only one Author and one book REALLY matters -- Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, and the Bible, the very Word of God. When I drink deeply from that Living Water; when I hydrate myself with God's Word,  I no longer need to visit those dry and empty wells, scrounging for water.  I'll never be thirsty again.   Oh, my sweet Lord and Savior, help me to learn this lesson once and for all RIGHT NOW and to never, ever forget it!


Today, maybe you have found yourself in the midst of a very dry season.  Perhaps you've been visiting wells you have no business visiting.  Wells that are dry, barren, empty.  You are thirsty and dehydrating.   


I invite you to join me and come to the well.  Come see a Man who knows everything I -- and you -- have ever done, thought, said, felt.  And He loves us still.  Come accept the Living Water He offers to us, so we will NEVER be thirsty again.  Join me in allowing ourselves to become immersed and saturated by the Word of God.


Come -- be refreshed.


Come -- be renewed.


Come -- be made clean.


Come to the well.

I have what you need,
But you keep on searchin,
I've done all the work,
But you keep on workin',


When you're runnin on empty,
And you can't find the remedy,
Just come to the well.


You can spend your whole life,
Chasin' what's missing,
But that empty inside,
It just ain't gonna listen.


When nothing can satisfy,
And the world leaves you high and dry,
Just come to the well


And all who thirst will thirst no more,
And all who search will find what their souls long for,
The world will try, but it can never fill,
So leave it all behind, and come to the well. ~ The Well, by Casting Crowns

Worship Song Sunday -- Nothing Without You, by Bebo Norman

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ~ Romans 12:1, NIV


With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
With all the strength that I can find

Take my time here on this earth
And let it glorify all that You are worth
For I am nothing,
I am nothing without You

Worship Song Sunday -- Like Incense (Sometimes By Step) by Hillsong

May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.  ~ Psalm 141:2 (NIV)

Art Credit

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water ~ Psalm 63:1

Worship the Lord and experience a fresh encounter with Him each time!

Worship Song Sunday -- Search My Heart, by Hillsong United

Today, there may be some of you who are unable to attend church services and to worship together with the body of Christ.  Depending upon where you are, your church services may have been cancelled due to Hurricane Irene's arrival or if they haven't, maybe your area is flooded and surrounded by fallen trees, making it impossible for you to get out.  Perhaps you're unable to leave your house to worship because you're caring for a sick child, spouse or parent, or you yourself may be ill.  Perhaps lately, you just don't feel as if you 'belong' at your church anymore because you've been burned and hurt by the people there (and if this is the case, my heart goes out to you).  Or maybe none of these reasons apply to you at all, and you're just one of the faithful blog readers stopping by for a visit this morning.

Whatever the reason, take a few minutes to sing out to the Lord God from your heart, worshiping Him. Open yourself up to the Lord God and allow Him to search your heart and soul.  Let Him restore you in your brokenness and make you whole again, praise Him with joy and thankfulness as you sing to Him, making these lyrics your own:

So with all my heart and all my soul
With all I am, Lord, I will follow You
You took the cross, You took my shame
Restored my life, Lord I will follow You
Without You I am nothing

My Jesus

He comes to my rescue
He fights my battles
He defeats my enemies
He eases my pain
He heals my wounds
He protects my life
He carries my burdens
He provides for my needs
He quenches my thirst
He satisfies my hunger
He nourishes my soul
He refreshes my spirit
He quiets my heart
He renews my mind
He delights in my laughter
He wipes away my tears
He listens for my voice
He hears my complaints
He forgives my sins
He removes my anxiety
He calms my fears
He knows my way
He walks by my side
He holds my right hand
He lifts up my head
He whispers my name
He loves me

He is my Jesus