I woke up one morning last week to something strange, it was the setting of the moon. It was dipping below the mountains to the west, in the same place where the sun takes it’s leave. The light was a cool blue between the blackness of night and the orange of day. And yet, instead of the glowing light of the sun it was the pale face of the moon we saw. What we typically associate with the evening we saw in the morning. If I could describe it with one word, I would choose the word disorienting. I think this accurately describes the way many of us have felt in the past week or two. It’s strange seeing empty streets, businesses closed in the middle of the day, and being told to stay home from work.
Its in times like these that we often give in to the temptation of fear; we lose our trust in our shepherd, we think surely he has not led us here. We desire to flee and to carve our own paths to find green pastures, not realizing that we are really fleeing from the presence of our LORD.
In Psalm 23 what the psalmist makes replete is that it is the LORD who takes care of His flock, it is He who restores our souls, it is He who leads us in paths of righteousness, and prepares a banquet in the presence of our enemies. All of this is the LORD’s doing. And yet, sometimes it feels like we are being led into difficult times, into times of testing, like when the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.
The most beautiful statement and I think the core of the Psalm are two short lines near the middle, “I will fear no Evil: For you are with me.” David’s trust in the LORD was undergirded by his knowledge of the ever presence of the LORD. As long as we are in His presence, we are safe, whether he is leading us through green pastures or barren deserts, in times of abundance or times of austerity we can trust that He is the good shepherd and he cares for His sheep. So, when times of upheaval and turbulence pervade our lives and we feel disoriented and tempted to fear, let us stop and turn to our LORD and remember that He is still leading us. And we as Yarrow MB can trust that even though we are not able to meet together in the flesh, we can still know that He is with us.
Brian Abrahams