He Restores Your Soul

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link

This season has been a crazy one. I wanted to add, “for our family”, but the reality is it seems to be true for most of the people I encounter. I even spoke with a counselor who mentioned that her patients have higher anxiety right now. News from around the world is ramped up with conflict. Television shows are focusing in on this troubled world without offering solutions or hope. Graduations, job changes, summer travel plans, unexpected tax bills and a myriad of other spring surprises are setting a lot of people off balance. Even good stress is still stress.

I look at this photo and it puts a longing in me. I want to go there again. What a peaceful setting for resting. The water is clear, revealing everything below the surface. Nothing appears to be moving. The water is so still that if you look closely enough you’ll see rings on the surface where a fish had recently been. This is a place without surprises. This is a place of peace.

God speaks to us in His Word often about peace. He knows how fast we get revved up by the world around us. He’s aware how our fears and anxieties try to overcome us. This is why He reminds us to take a sabbath day. A day set apart for rest, contemplation, and to focus on Him. It is not only because we like it, but because we need it.

Lately, when I feel overwhelmed, I close my eyes and slowly recite the twenty-third Psalm. I’ve come to realize that this Psalm addresses everything we encounter in life, and how God is working as we travel through it.

This photo is similar to what I envision when thinking on the second verse,

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.”
Psalm 23:2 New International Version

God brings us to a place of rest in order to restore us. He does this even in the midst of our chaos. It is no surprise that the Prince of Peace longs to give us His peace. Take time to rest in Him and be restored.

Text and Picture Copyright Richelle Hecker