Life in this world can be hard, overwhelming, and exhausting at times. But Jesus calls us to rest in Him, to breathe in the joy He offers, to drink refreshing streams of His love, forgiveness, and grace. Jesus invites us to come to Him as we are, in all our emotions. Spending time with our Good Shepherd revives, repairs and renews us–it restores our very souls.
Laura L. Smith
Day 1
Scriptures: Psalms 40, Matthew 7:24-27
A Rock to Stand On
The tide was high, and the 20 mph winds whipped waves, fierce and salty up to my daughter’s and my knees as we climbed jagged rocks along the shore to get to a more secluded patch of beach. Each wave that hit made us wobble.
We carefully timed our movements along the rocks to go only in the moments of still between the waves. Then we’d freeze as the waves crashed against us and the rocks, flinging seaweed, shells, and driftwood toward the shore. But even though the water seemed like it was alive and had the force to move just about anything in its path, it could not move those rocks. They stood firm with every passing wave.
Jesus tells us He is our rock that we can build our lives upon.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t often find myself clinging to rocks on the shoreline. However, I do find myself getting whipped and blown about by responsibilities, expectations, setbacks, disappointments, rejections, ailments, and worries. Jesus tells us whatever comes at us won’t knock us down, not if we listen to Him.
And even when we slip on the muck or mud or mire—whether we venture out too far for our own good or take a misstep or get shoved into a pit, Jesus is there when we cry out to Him, pulling us back up to our feet, putting us back on the rock that is Him, giving us a safe place to stand.
Life in this world can be hard. Jesus doesn’t promise us all unicorns and rainbows. King David, the author of Psalm 40, saw this firsthand. He states, “troubles without number surround me! (v.12).” David goes on to say in this Psalm there are people who want to take his life and put him to ruin. But even in the midst of his trauma, David claims “You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God (v.17),” believing with all his heart that God can and will save him.
I don’t know what you’re facing today, but I do know that Jesus wants to help. He wants to deliver you from anything frightening or out of your control. He wants only goodness for you. Call out to Jesus with your problems, fears, and concerns. Tell Him everything that has you shaky or worried. Take His hand. He’s reaching out to you. And He’ll pull you back to safety, to a life with Him that is secure and rock-solid no matter what comes your way.
Day 2
Scripture: Psalms 23
Soul Restoration
Our family’s Bible publication date reads 1863. Over the years, time took its toll on this beautiful book. My mom knew how much I adored the old Bible, had it restored and gave it to me as a birthday gift. The bookbindery Mom sent it to, removed the Bible’s original damaged spine, rebound the pages by hand and replaced the deteriorated endpapers. They painstakingly cleaned grime and grit revealing the intricately carved designs decorating the leather cover. It took months for the bindery to delicately and intentionally restore this gorgeous Bible. But it was worth it. It is stunning.
We’re all a little bit like my family Bible—torn a bit on the edge from something we don’t like to talk about, worn down all over from years of dealing with an ongoing issue, a little or maybe even a lot cracked in the middle from heartache. And God? He is like the bookbindery. Only better. He wants to take what is broken and damaged and what feels like it is beyond repair in our lives and restore it—restore us to our original beauty.
God is in the restoration business.
Our good, good shepherd leads us to still waters—not roaring streams with strong, fast currents or oceans with powerful, high waves, but still waters.
He calls us to rest. To breathe. To drink cool, refreshing streams of His love, forgiveness, and grace. To lie down and close our eyes in soft, green pastures. To let His peace that surpasses all understanding wash over us, heal us. Jesus longs for us to share with Him all our fears and worries. To allow Him to restore our souls. It’s not a quick and easy process. But the time we spend with Jesus revives and repairs us.
Jesus will walk alongside us, comforting us as we face dark, challenging times. When enemies, critics,
and people who have hurt or don’t understand us come our way, our loving Shepherd prepares a feast for us, to satisfy us, to give us the energy to continue.
And if we follow Jesus to the green pastures He leads us to, if we drink from the still waters He guides us to, our souls truly will be restored. God’s goodness, faithfulness, and mercy will make our spines stronger, our bindings firm, and the pages of our stories filled with grace, love, and joy.
What needs restoring in your life today? Take some time away with Jesus. Close your eyes. Maybe even lie down. Turn your troubles over to Him and ask for His healing restoration.
Day 3
Scriptures: Psalms 139:1-16, Galatians 1:15, Galatians 6:4
Don’t Fight It—Own It
“Is your hair naturally wavy?” The flight attendant asked as she handed me a pack of pretzels, the bag crinkling in her hand.
“Yeah,” I smiled and nodded.
“How do you take care of it? My hair recently got super wavy, but I don’t know what to do with it.”
“Own it,” I told her. “If God gave you curls, don’t fight them, own them. That’s the best advice I can give. Don’t try to tame them or brush them out. Put a little gel or curl cream on your curls and let them do their thing.”
God gave me curls and a love of words and music. I didn’t always love these parts of myself. I even tried to fight them. I wanted straight hair, to be athletic like the cool kids, not a bookworm, well, like nerdy me. And it didn’t seem fair that I loved music but couldn’t sing. But God is showing me that how He made me is exactly how I most shine. My curls are part of my personality. My love of words and stories is exactly what I needed to be a writer. Listening and singing off-key to music in my car, kitchen, church, or wherever brings me joy, energizes me, and soothes my soul.
God might have given you unbelievable portions of patience, the ability to fix things, and an uncanny sense of smell that detects rain, dogs, your best friend, or a taco truck long before they come into view.
Before you were born God knew you. He loved you. He carefully considered every aspect of you. God wanted to create a completely unique, wonderful human being that would reflect His image, and then He intentionally knit together all the ways you think, look, feel, process, and respond. He paused at His new creation and said, “Yes! This one is wonderful.”
This is what God thinks of you. Do you think the same—that you’re wonderful?
List some qualities you love about yourself. Thank God for making you like this.
Now list something about yourself you don’t love as much. Sit with your Creator and ask Him to help you see yourself as He does—exactly how He intended you, wonderful.
Before you were born, God set you apart for goodness and grace. He was pleased with you before you took your first breath. He doesn’t want you to compare yourself to anyone else, because how He made you is perfect in His eyes. Everything God has given you was incredibly and lovingly thought out by Him. What He put in you, He put in you for good. Own it!