One of the best-loved chapters in the Bible is Psalm 23. Here David, a former shepherd himself, compares us humans to sheep lovingly cared for by The Good Shepherd. “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul” (verses 1-3).
The human mind, like the human body, needs refreshment and encouragement. And like the human body, a mind can be wounded. Sorrow is a wound. It cuts deeply, but sorrow is a clean wound, and will heal, unless something gets into the wound—such as bitterness, self-pity or resentment.
Wrong is also a wound. When I deliberately do something I know is wrong, I wound my mind, and it is an unclean wound. Time will not heal that wound. Gradually, a sense of guilt will develop, and that can destroy a life. There is only one Physician who can heal this wound.
“He refreshes my soul” can have another meaning. Moffatt translates it to read, “He revives life in me.” Like a watch, the human spirit can just run down. We lose our drive and push. We become less willing to attempt the difficult. Like squeezing the juice from an orange and leaving just the pulp, life has a way of squeezing the spirit out of a person. The dawn of a new day leaves us cold and hopeless.
The Bible tells us that God made the first human being, “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). And God has the power and the willingness to breathe a new breath of life into anyone who has lost his own energy and enthusiasm.
Just as a shepherd makes sure his sheep are content and well-cared for, so God wants to restore joy and gladness to your life, to heal the wounds that wear you down.
Take time today to read Psalm 23…and be refreshed by its good news!
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