Sharp Shooter

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double‑edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."  

Hebrews 4:12

Think about how the Roman soldier back in the day would treat his sword? He would clean it, polish it, sharpen it, care for it. Always know where it is and keep it close at hand.

And to bring it forward to the 21st century, what about the modern soldier and his weapon? It needs to be kept in perfect condition. The last thing he wants is for his gun to jam when his life or his brother’s life depends upon it. He needs to be practised at drawing his weapon as quick as possible and a master of the targets at the shooting range.

That’s how we need to treat the word of God. We need to know it intimately, be certain how it fits together, care about it, polish it, and make sure it is always ready to fire. And that means being in the Word, reading it, praying through it, speaking to friends about it and learning scripture off by heart, so that it is familiar and effective in our hands.

Psalm 23

Reading Psalm 23 brings a good ole Spurgeon quote to mind: 

“All true rest begins with Jesus, as all the comfort of the sheep is provided for by their shepherd.”

True rest, how lovely that sounds! We’re not gonna find that anywhere else, but in following Jesus and trusting him to be the shepherd that will lead us to where we need to be. We won't find rest along the paths we forcefully forge for ourselves; those just lead to exhaustion and dissatisfaction. This year I'm wanting to learn more and more about what it looks like to follow Jesus' voice closely and to walk in step with the Spirit.

“I shall not want”

This is the exact opposite of the consumerism that the world throws at us daily. It tells us that we do want, that we need to want, that we want more. But I so want (lol excuse the irony) to be able to say like Paul that I am content no matter the circumstances, all because I have Jesus and he is always more than enough.

“He restores my soul”

There are days where my soul feels so exhausted and worn out, and days when I’ve messed up that it feels so broken. The Tenth Avenue North song covers this so well: 

I'm tired, I'm worn

My heart is heavy

From the work it takes

To keep on breathing

I've made mistakes

I've let my hope fail

My soul feels crushed

By the weight of this world

Life can be hard and tiring and soul draining. But my beautiful Jesus restores my soul. As the song goes on to say, we will see redemption win and our God can and will mend a heart that's frail and torn, He, and only he, can make me whole again (unlike what that classic Atomic Kittens' song says).

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”

It’s interesting how it’s ‘walk’. I know when I’m out in the dark and feeling unsafe, I want to run and flee. But this speaks of a calmness and an unnatural peace when walking through danger. That’s what happens when we walk with Jesus. Even in the midst of the storm, we can rest in him, because he is with us and will comfort us.

“You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies”

This is also something that doesn’t quite make sense -- if there are enemies around, it means there is likely a battle raging, and that’s not the time to be holding a banquet. But with God, we can trust that he will win the war, so we can partake of his table, we can sit down and rest and watch as he claims the victory.

First Things First

In the auditing world, there is a time known to many as "Busy Szn". It is a seven week period from the beginning of January up until the filing date of the client, where work continues well into the nights and weekends and 'life' totally disappears out of the 'work-life balance' formula. As it's during winter in the USA, audit staff generally don't see the sun, many just don't exercise at all, and there is a lot of ordering in of unhealthy food. What a time to be alive! 

But in the midst of all that, today I was reminded of the much quoted Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness." That 'but' is there because before that, Jesus was talking about not worrying about tomorrow, BUT to seek him first instead. And I like to keep that 'but' in there because it reminds me that perhaps that would not be my natural instinct. That seeking first God and his will is something I actively have to choose to do every day. There will always be endless potential excuses, there will always be many things to worry about. But seek first Jesus.

So even though the next weeks will be overwhelming with drowning in work and meetings and long nights at the office, I want to choose to seek Him first. That my first thought (aka: panic) when I wake up in the morning won't be the long list of things I need to do for the day, but would instead be gratefulness to God for another day, and a calling on Him to be with me in my busyness. That I would still take time to be with Him and read the Word, even if that means sacrificing more sleep, trusting that he will refresh and sustain me through it all. That, even when I'm sleep-deprived and very tempted to be grumpy and cold, instead I would seek to glorify Him with my conduct at work being kind and patient and generous, reflecting something of Jesus to my colleagues and client staff.

Because at the end of the day, and at the end of my life, these days aren't THAT important, they'll just be a blur. But what is important, and what will always remain, is the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. So I will choose to seek that first.