Now that the number of new COVID cases are down to single digits, the clear and present danger Victorians everywhere now face are: magpies.
Whether it’s waving a stick above your head or installing cable ties on your helmet, every Australian needs a coping mechanism for these territorial treetop terrors.
"But those who drink 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." John 4:14
During these troubled times, when the COVID-19 pandemic creates anxiety, chaos, and stress, may this version of Psalm 23 remind us that God is still with us – He will lead us through this valley and we are never, ever alone.
Passion Translation:
1 The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd.
I always have more than enough.
2 He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love.
His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.
3 That’s where he restores and revives my life.
He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure
and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness
so that I can bring honor to his name.
4 Lord, even when your path takes me through
the valley of deepest darkness,
fear will never conquer me, for you already have!
You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way.
Your authority is my strength and my peace.
The comfort of your love takes away my fear.
I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.
5 You become my delicious feast
even when my enemies dare to fight.
You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit;
you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows.
6 So why would I fear the future?
For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life.
Then afterward, when my life is through,
I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!
"But those who drink 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." John 4:14
I only recently became aware that there were large fires in different regions across the world including the Amazon, Siberia, Greenland, and some parts of southern Europe.
I read a few news sources and they say the Amazon is known as the Earth’s lungs and produces up to 20% of the world’s oxygen. It’s a terrible thought to lose the ability to breathe properly. The biodiversity in the Amazon forest is also lost due to these fires. The Earth isn’t looking too good going forward. There is also much heat in the political arena between powerful countries (e.g. the US vs Iran) and political ideologies (e.g. far left vs far right).
Jesus predicted that humanity’s selfish choices would destroy the Earth and create mounting conflict between the nations in Matthew 24.
In the midst of all these happenings we can be consumed by fear and uncertainty of the future.
When my nephew first arrived in Australia he wasn’t used to the sea. It was cold and full of mysterious and frightening things – slimy sea weed and fish and spiky anemones and seals. He refused to go in.
That was a few years back. Now he is six.
It’s scary to make new friends.
Micah has been in school for 6 weeks now and he’s doing just fine. I on the other hand am having a hard time transitioning to being a school mum.
What are some of our fears about God? That He will judge? That He wants control? Explore how we can find freedom from our fears about God.
What are some of our fears about God? That He will judge? That He wants control? Explore how we can find freedom from our fears about God.
So I was on Facebook and ended up watching a video of babies being scared of their own shadows (below for your viewing pleasure). At first I laughed pretty hard because it was pretty cute and heartlessly hilarious to see the little ones trying to toddle away from their own shadows. And then I plotted ways to get Micah to see his own shadow for the first time … and then finally the non-evil side of me (thank God, it’s there, I promise) imagined poor Micah crying and trying to crawl (or currently, worm) his way away from his own shadow and I felt really, really bad for him.
Because really, shadows can be creepy.
They appear and disappear. They grow and distort. They merge and mask.
And while shadow puppets and baby videos are all fun and good, we all have shadows that scare us. That follow us and appear when we least expect them. That distort the truth.
The shadow of insecurity – fearing what others think and say of us. The shadow of shame – regrets of the past that linger. The shadow of loneliness – what if I never find love?
No wonder we try to run away from our own shadows.
But as psychiatrists like Carl Jung and philosophers like Zhuangzi have discovered, shadows are best dealt with in the shade:
There was a man who was so disturbed by the sight of his own shadow and so displeased with his own footsteps that he determined to get rid of both. The method he hit upon was to run away from them.
So he got up and ran. But every time he put his foot down there was another step, while his shadow kept up with him without the slightest difficulty.
He attributed his failure to the fact that he was not running fast enough. So he ran faster and faster, without stopping until he finally dropped dead.
He failed to realize that if he merely stepped into the shade, his shadow would vanish, and if he sat down and stayed still, there would be no more footsteps.
~ From The Way of Chuang Tzu, by Thomas Merton, page 155.
What or where is your shade?
How do you find rest?
My favorite passage in the Bible is Psalm 121:
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
This passage has strengthened me through many dark days, when my shadows or the shadows of the world seemed looming and ominous. I don’t think it’s saying that we won’t face difficulties; we live in a world of pain. But it is promising that the Lord will preserve our soul so that the evil cannot penetrate our core. He will be that hill that provides the shade we so desperately need when the sun is scorching down and our shadows are long.
He is the rest we are longing for.
He knows what it’s like to walk in the valley of the shadow of death, and He understands how scared we are of our own shadows. So He offers us come, rest awhile – let me be the security you long for, for I will never leave you. Let me be the righteousness you thirst for, for I will always forgive you. Let me be the Love you yearn for, for I will always love you.
He is the shade that swallows all shadows, for in His death He conquered sin. (“O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? … thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Cor 15:55-58).
In His shadow, our own shadows can disappear and we can discover who we truly are. In His presence, there is peace.
Lord, Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings…. Psalm 17:8.
"But those who drink 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." John 4:14
"But those who drink 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." John 4:14
