Opening Prayer: Lord God, my Heavenly Father, help me to know,
to the core of my being, that I am your beloved. And help that knowledge to allow me to rest
in you and not in what I can earn or achieve or accomplish. Help me, this day, to rest my head between
your strong and protective shoulders.
Amen.
Scripture: Deuteronomy 33:12
Journal: Where do you find rest? What does it take for you to truly rest? How does knowing that you are his beloved
give you rest? How will you rest between
his shoulders today?
Reflection:
I’ve never really thought of myself as much of a
gardener, and still don’t really. But I have discovered an undeniable interest
in planting things and watching them grow. And not just any things, but
beautiful things, flowers mostly. I guess that’s the difference between a
gardener and a farmer—gardeners plant flowers and farmers plant vegetables. I’m
definitely a flower guy, which quite honestly is a little hard to admit. The
words flower and guy don’t particularly go hand-in-hand in my
mind, but I really like them nonetheless—more and more as I get older. It’s
kind of like watching birds, it is something I could’ve never imagined enjoying
back in my younger days, but as I have gotten older I have discovered I really
like it.
Well, this new-found interest in gardening has begun to work its way out into my life, and particularly into my yard. In fact, I have this space in my backyard that I absolutely love. I call it my spot. It is a peaceful and quiet place that I escape to from time to time for silence and solitude. And, as a result, it is a space that I take special care of, a space I am very intentional about, one that I try to plant beautiful things in—two azalea bushes a couple of years ago, two small dogwood trees last year, roses and rhododendron this year. Add to that a couple of chairs, a fire pit, a bird feeder, and two bluebird houses and there you have it.
The other day, as I was creating a little flowerbed to plant some of these beautiful things in, I began to realize that what I was doing in my yard was really what I most deeply desire to do with my life—to plant something beautiful within the hearts and souls of those that God brings across my path. Not something of me, mind you, nothing that I have created or dreamt up, but something of God, something beautiful that He has planted within me. Maybe that’s really what ministry is all about, listening deeply to Him, recognizing the beautiful things He is planting within us, and offering those things to folks in our lives and world. And maybe the only question I really need to pay attention to is: “God, what beautiful thing—that you have planted in me—do you want me to plant into this dear one that is sitting with me at the moment?”
That’s where the Deuteronomy passage comes in. Moses is at the end of his life and mission. He has finished his race and has passed the baton of leadership on to Joshua. Now all that is left for him to do is utter his final words. Can you imagine the care and the prayer and the thought and the intention he put into the process of choosing the words he—and more appropriately God—wanted ringing in the ears of the nation of Israel at this key moment in their life and history. You can almost see the smile on his face as he thinks of each tribe individually, considers the state of their hearts, and carefully composes his hopes and dreams for each of them.
Well, this new-found interest in gardening has begun to work its way out into my life, and particularly into my yard. In fact, I have this space in my backyard that I absolutely love. I call it my spot. It is a peaceful and quiet place that I escape to from time to time for silence and solitude. And, as a result, it is a space that I take special care of, a space I am very intentional about, one that I try to plant beautiful things in—two azalea bushes a couple of years ago, two small dogwood trees last year, roses and rhododendron this year. Add to that a couple of chairs, a fire pit, a bird feeder, and two bluebird houses and there you have it.
The other day, as I was creating a little flowerbed to plant some of these beautiful things in, I began to realize that what I was doing in my yard was really what I most deeply desire to do with my life—to plant something beautiful within the hearts and souls of those that God brings across my path. Not something of me, mind you, nothing that I have created or dreamt up, but something of God, something beautiful that He has planted within me. Maybe that’s really what ministry is all about, listening deeply to Him, recognizing the beautiful things He is planting within us, and offering those things to folks in our lives and world. And maybe the only question I really need to pay attention to is: “God, what beautiful thing—that you have planted in me—do you want me to plant into this dear one that is sitting with me at the moment?”
That’s where the Deuteronomy passage comes in. Moses is at the end of his life and mission. He has finished his race and has passed the baton of leadership on to Joshua. Now all that is left for him to do is utter his final words. Can you imagine the care and the prayer and the thought and the intention he put into the process of choosing the words he—and more appropriately God—wanted ringing in the ears of the nation of Israel at this key moment in their life and history. You can almost see the smile on his face as he thinks of each tribe individually, considers the state of their hearts, and carefully composes his hopes and dreams for each of them.
And after all the thinking and the
considering and the hoping and the dreaming and the praying, he gathers the
entire nation together in order to give each of them a blessing. And
what a blessing it is! In fact, as he blesses each tribe, it’s hard not
to get the image of him simply trying to plant something beautiful within their
hearts and souls, something that will bring life and bear fruit for years and
years to come, something that will help them be exactly what both Isaiah and
Jeremiah imagined—a well-watered garden.
And maybe that’s all a blessing is anyway—planting something beautiful
in a heart or soul. And maybe that’s exactly what a blessing was intended
to do in the first place—to create life and bear fruit.
So he plants the words of blessing in
the soil of their souls, and prays that it will begin to take root. And what
rich and beautiful words they are…“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure
in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests
between his shoulders.” And the garden of God’s delight becomes, a little
at a time, more and more beautiful.
Prayers
Closing Prayer: Father, grow in me this day a deep knowledge
of your incredible love and affection.
Let its roots go deep into the soil of my soul and take residence
there. That I may rest in you and in
your love at all times, in all places, and in every circumstance. Amen.
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