Skip to main content

Restoring Your Soul

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul."
(from  Psalm 23)

Lectio Divina, is a method involving reading, meditating, and praying Scripture verses aiming to help people connect more deeply with God. 

 

There are four basic steps: 

1.    Reading the Scripture passage several times slowly listening for God's small voice.

2.   Thinking about how it applies to your life.

3.   Praying and opening your heart to God

4.   Being still and listening for what God is saying to you.

As I read Psalm 23, two words stand out for me; water and soul.

Places where I have been quiet and listening for what God may be saying are the shore and waterfalls.

At the rocky shore of Acadia, N.P., God speaks through the rhythm of the waves rolling against the rocks in sets of three.

God says, the rhythm will remain the same no matter if the seas are calm or stormy; your is consistently restored even in my times of life’s inconsistencies.

I live near several beautiful waterfalls, some large and flowing, some small and merely a trickle.

When I walk to Dingmans Falls, my favorite, sometimes, after rainstorms, the water is gushing majestically.

Sometimes, after a long spell without rain, there is still be a splendid flow down the height of the waterfall.

God restores my soul through the roar of thundering waters pouring down after rainstorms by saying, “it’s ok to express your anger in my presence.”

God restores my soul through a quiet flow saying, “I’m still here, listen to what I have to say.”

I invite you to take some Lectio Divina time listening for what God is saying to you through reviving your soul. 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ruler of All Earthly Kings

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. (from Rev. 1:4-8 ) About 17 years ago I wrote a letter to the people in the United Church of Underhill. The purpose of the letter was to explain I was retiring at the end of the Conference Year. I felt the time had come for me personally to move on and for the church to grow with a new pastor. I secured a moving company while the church formed a search committee as we both prepared for the inevitable. This is the nature of the book of Revelation, as recorded in 1:4: “John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia.” This is Revelation’s context: it was written for the benefit of particular people at a particular time for their particular situation. John’s letter narrates a drama about God’s imminent invasion of the “kingdom of this world” ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus, Deliverance, and Demons

"Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (from Luke 8:26-39 ) Astrid is a streaming program I often watch. The plot is a basic cops and robbers action until the criminal is caught. The uniqueness of the program is Astrid, who is on the Autism spectrum, is brilliant at solving puzzles including connecting clues to solve the crime. Watching this program has given me a more profound insight to people living with this condition and their acceptance in society. My first-hand experience with children on the Spectrum was driving a Special Needs school bus for 6 years. With this experience, I can imagine the life the possessed man was experiencing, especially living among the tombs, bound with chains and shackles, having to live in the wilds. It was no wonder he cried for mercy. Jesus, with his power and mercy, cast the demons out and even...
Post a Comment
Read more