ONE: THE LUGGAGE OF LIFE
1. I need to learn to travel light. You’re wondering why I can’t. Loosen up! You’re thinking. You can’t enjoy a journey carrying so much stuff. Why don’t you just drop all that luggage? Funny you should ask. I’d like to inquire the same of you. Haven’t you been known to pick up a few bags?
2. What you were saying to me, God is saying to you, “Set that stuff down! You’re carrying burdens you don’t need to bear.” “Come to me,” He invites, “all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 NLT). If we let Him, God will lighten our loads ... but how do we let Him? May I invite an old friend to show us? The Twenty-third Psalm.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
(NKJV)
3. Do you have some luggage of your own? Do you think God might use David’s psalm to lighten your load? Traveling light means trusting God with the burdens you were never intended to bear.
Why don’t you try traveling light? Try it for the sake of those you love. Have you ever considered the impact that excess baggage has on relationships? For the sake of those you love, learn to set them down
And, for the sake of the God you serve, do the same. He wants to use you, you know. But how can He if you are exhausted?
4. What’s true in jogging is true in faith. God has a great race for you to run. Under His care you will go where you’ve never been and serve in ways you’ve never dreamed. But you have to drop some stuff. How can you share grace if you are full of guilt? How can you offer comfort if you are disheartened? How can you lift someone else’s load if your arms are full with your own?
For the sake of those you love, travel light
For the sake of the God you serve, travel light
For the sake of your own joy, travel light
5. There are certain weights in life you simply cannot carry. Your Lord is asking you to set them down and trust Him. He is the father at the baggage claim. When a dad sees his five-year-old son trying to drag the family trunk off the carousel, what does he say? The father will say to his son what God is saying to you. “Set it down, child. I’ll carry that one.” What do you say we take God up on his offer? We just might find ourselves traveling a little lighter.
“Unload all your worries onto Him, since He is looking after you” (1 Pet. 5:7 JB)
TWO: THE MIDDLE C OF LIFE
(The burden of lesser God)
The Lord...(Psalm 23:1)
1. In this psalm David devotes one hundred and fifteen words to explaining the first two: “The Lord.” In the arena of unnecessary luggage, the psalmist begins with the weightiest: the refashioned God. One who looks nice but does little. God as.
2. “You want to know who God really is?” he asks. “Then read this.” And he writes the name Yahweh. “Yahweh is my shepherd.” Though foreign to us, the name was rich to David. So rich, in fact, that David chose Yahweh over El Shaddai (God Almighty), El Elyon (God Most High), and El Olam (God the Everlasting). These and many other titles for God were at David’s disposal. But when he considered all the options, David chose Yahweh. Why Yahweh? Because Yahweh is God’s name.
3. The name I AM sounds strikingly close to the Hebrew verb to be—havah. It’s quite possibly a combination of the present tense form (I am) and the causative tense (I cause to be). Yahweh, then, seems to mean “I am” and “I cause.” God is the “One who is” and the “One who causes.” Why is that important? Because we need a big God. And if God is the “One who is,” then He is an unchanging God.
4. He is also an uncaused God. Though He creates, God was never created. Though He makes, He was never made. Though He causes, He was never caused. Hence the psalmist’s proclamation: “Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God” (Ps. 90:2 NIV). God is Yahweh—an unchanging God, an uncaused God, and an ungoverned God.
5. You and I need a middle C. Haven't you had enough change in your life? Relationships change. Health changes. The weather changes. But the Yahweh who ruled the earth last night is the same Yahweh who rules it today. Same convictions. Same plan. Same mood. Same love. He never changes. You can no more alter God than a pebble can alter the rhythm of the Pacific. Yahweh is our middle C. A still point in a turning world. Don’t we need a still point? Don't we need an unchanging shepherd?
6. And He is ungoverned. Counselors can comfort you in the storm, but you need a God who can still the storm. Friends can hold your hand at your deathbed, but you need a Yahweh who has defeated the grave. Philosophers can debate the meaning of life, but you need a Lord who can declare the meaning of life.
You need a Yahweh.
7. You don’t need to carry the burden of a lesser god. A god on a shelf, a god in a box, or a god in a bottle. No, you need a God who can place 100 billion stars in our galaxy and 100 billion galaxies in the universe. You need a God who can shape two fists of flesh into 75 to 100 billion nerve cells, each with as many as 10,000 connections to other nerve cells, place it in a skull, and call it a brain. And you need a God who, while so mind-numbingly mighty, can come in the soft of night and touch you with the tenderness of an April snow. You need a Yahweh. And, according to David, you have one. He is your shepherd.
THREE: I'LL DO IT MY WAY
(The burden of self reliance)
"The LORD is my shepherd" (Psalm 23:1 NKJV)
1. All I needed to do was apologize, but I had to argue. All I needed to do was listen, but I had to open my big mouth. All I needed to do was be patient, but I had to take control. All I had to do was give it to God, but I tried to fix it myself. Too much stubbornness. Too much independence. Too much self reliance. I don’t need advice— Whack. I can handle this myself—Clang. I don’t need a shepherd, thank you—Plop. Can you relate? Are you and I the only ones to make an anthem out of Sinatra’s song “I Did It My Way”? Are we the only two dragging around the cast-iron chest of self reliance? I don't think so.
2. We humans want to do things our way. Forget the easy way. Forget the common way. Forget the best way. Forget God’s way. We want to do things our way. And, according to the Bible, that's precisely our problem. “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way” (Isa. 53:6). You wouldn’t think sheep would be obstinate. Of all God’s animals, the sheep is the least able to take care of himself.
3. Couldn’t David have thought of a better metaphor? Surely he could have. After all, he outran Saul and outgunned Goliath. Why didn’t he choose something other than sheep? Who notices when God's sheep show up? Who notices when the sheep sing or speak or act? Only one person notices. The shepherd. And that is precisely David’s point.
4. When David, who was a warrior, minstrel, and ambassador for God, searched for an illustration of God, he remembered his days as a shepherd. He remembered how he lavished attention on the sheep day and night. How he slept with them and watched over them. And the way he cared for the sheep reminded him of the way God cares for us. David rejoiced to say, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and in so doing he proudly implied, “I am His sheep”.
5. Scripture says, “Do it God’s way.” Experience says, “Do it God’s way.” Every Scot in heaven begs, “Aye, laddie, do it God’s way.”
FOUR: THE PRISON OF WANT
(The burden of discontent)
"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1 NKJV)
1. The prison of want. You’ve seen her prisoners. They are “in want.” They want something. They want something bigger. Nicer. Faster. Thinner. They want. They don’t want much, mind you. They want just one thing. One new job. One new car. One new house. One new spouse. They don’t want much. They want just one. And when they have “one,” they will be happy. And they are right—they will be happy. When they have “one,” they will leave the prison. But then it happens. The new-car smell passes. The new job gets old. The neighbors buy a larger television set. The new spouse has bad habits. The sizzle fizzles, and before you know it, another ex-con breaks parole and returns to jail.
2. Are you in prison? You are if you feel better when you have more and worse when you have less. You are if joy is one delivery away, one transfer away, one award away, or one makeover away. If your happiness comes from something you deposit, drive, drink, or digest, then face it—you are in prison, the prison of want.
3. That’s the bad news. The good news is, you have a visitor. And your visitor has a message that can get you paroled. Make your way to the receiving room. Take your seat in the chair, and look across the table at the psalmist David. He motions for you to lean forward. “I have a secret to tell you,” he whispers, “the secret of satisfaction. ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want’” (Ps. 23:1 NKJV).
David has found the pasture where discontent goes to die. It’s as if he is saying, “What I have in God is greater than what I don’t have in life”
4. All that stuff—it’s not yours. And you know what else about all that stuff? It’s not you. Who you are has nothing to do with the clothes you wear or the car you drive. Jesus said, “Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot” (Luke 12:15 MSG). Heaven knows your heart. “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7 NIV). When God thinks of you, He may see your compassion, your devotion, your tenderness or quick mind, but He doesn’t think of your things.
Contentment comes when we can honestly say with Paul: “I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have.. I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty” (Phil. 4:11-12)
5. What is the one thing separating you from joy? How do you fill in this blank: “I will be happy when___”? How would you finish that statement? Now, with your answer firmly in mind, answer this. If your ship never comes in, if your dream never comes true, if the situation never changes, could you be happy? If not, then you are sleeping in the cold cell of discontent. You are in prison. And you need to know what you have in your Shepherd.
6. You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need. And who can take it from you?
7. Can't we be equally content? Paul says that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:6 NIV). When we surrender to God the cumbersome sack of discontent, we don’t just give up something; we gain something. God replaces it with a lightweight, tailor-made, sorrow-resistant attache of gratitude. What will you gain with contentment? You may gain your marriage. You may gain precious hours with your children. You may gain your self-respect. You may gain joy. You may gain the faith to say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
8. Try saying it slowly. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Again, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Again, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Shhhhhhh. Did you hear something? I think I did. I’m not sure ... but I think I heard the opening of a jail door.
FIVE: I WILL GIVE YOU REST
(The burden of weariness)
"He makes me to lie down in green pastures" (Psalm 23:2 NKJV)
1. People with too much work and too little sleep step over to the baggage claim of life and grab the duffel bag of weariness. You don’t carry this one. You don’t hoist it onto your shoulder and stride down the street.
2. We are eternal creatures, and we ask eternal questions: Where did I come from? Where am I going? What is the meaning of life? What is right? What is wrong? Is there life after death? These are the primal questions of the soul. And left unanswered, such questions will steal our rest.
3. Sheep can’t sleep. For sheep to sleep, everything must be just right. No predators. No tension in the flock. No bugs in the air. No hunger in the belly. Everything has to be just so. Unfortunately, sheep cannot find safe pasture, nor can they spray insecticide, deal with the frictions, or find food. They need help. They need a shepherd to “lead them” and help them “lie down in green pastures.” Without a shepherd, they can’t rest. Without a shepherd, neither can we.
4. “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters” (Ps. 23:2 NKJV). Note the two pronouns preceding the two verbs. He makes me... He leads me. Who is the active one? Who is in charge? The shepherd. The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep’s job—our job—is to watch the shepherd. With our eyes on our Shepherd, we’ll be able to get some sleep. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You” (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV).
5. We see the waves of the water rather than the Savior walking through them. We focus on our paltry provisions rather than on the One who can feed five thousand hungry people. We concentrate on the dark Fridays of crucifixion and miss the bright Sundays of resurrection. Change your focus and relax. And while you are at it, change your schedule and rest!
Life can get so loud we forget to shut it down. Maybe that’s why God made such a big deal about rest in the Ten Commandments.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Exod. 20:8-11 NKJV)
6. God’s message is plain: “If creation didn’t crash when I rested, it won’t crash when you do”. Repeat these words after me: It is not my job to run the world.
7. The bow cannot always be bent without fear of breaking. For a field to bear fruit, it must occasionally lie fallow. And for you to be healthy, you must rest. Slow down, and God will heal you. He will bring rest to your mind, to your body, and most of all to your soul. He will lead you to green pastures.
8. Any green pasture in Judea is the work of some shepherd. Hence, when David says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures,” he is saying, “My Shepherd makes me lie down in His finished work.” With His own pierced hands, Jesus created a pasture for the soul. He tore out the thorny underbrush of condemnation. He pried loose the huge boulders of sin. In their place He planted seeds of grace and dug ponds of mercy.
9. And He invites us to rest there. Can you imagine the satisfaction in the heart of the shepherd when, with work completed, he sees his sheep rest in the tender grass? Can you imagine the satisfaction in the heart of God when we do the same? His pasture is His gift to us. This is not a pasture that you have made. Nor is it a pasture that you deserve. It is a gift of God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8 NIV).
10. In a world rocky with human failure, there is a land lush with divine mercy. Your Shepherd invites you there. He wants you to lie down. Nestle deeply until you are hidden, buried, in the tall shoots of His love, and there you will find rest.
SIX: WHADDIFS AND HOWELLS
(The Burden of Worry)
"He leads me beside the still waters" (Psalm 23:2 NKJV)
1. Worry is the burlap bag of burdens. It’s overflowing with “whaddifs” and “howells.” “Whaddif it rains at my wedding?” “Howell I know when to discipline my kids?” “Whaddif I marry a guy who snores?” “Howell we pay our baby's tuition?” “Whaddif, after all my dieting, they learn that lettuce is fattening and chocolate isn't?” The burlap bag of worry. Cumbersome. Chunky. Unattractive. Scratchy. Hard to get a handle on. Irritating to carry and impossible to give away. No one wants your worries.
2. Worry divides the mind. The biblical word for worry (merimnao) is a compound of two Greek words, merizo (“to divide”) and nous (“the mind”). Anxiety splits our energy between today’s priorities and tomorrow’s problems. Part of our mind is on the now; the rest is on the not yet. The result is half-minded living. That's not the only result. Worrying is not a disease, but it causes diseases. It has been connected to high blood pressure, heart trouble, blindness, migraine headaches, thyroid malfunctions, and a host of stomach disorders. Anxiety is an expensive habit. Of course, it might be worth the cost if it worked. But it doesn’t. Our frets are futile. Jesus said, “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it” (Matt. 6:27). Worry has never brightened a day, solved a problem, or cured a disease.
3. “He leads me beside the still waters,” David declares. And, in case we missed the point, he repeats the phrase in the next verse: “He leads me in the paths of righteousness.” “He leads me.” God isn’t behind me, yelling, “Go!” He is ahead of me, bidding, “Come!” He is in front, clearing the path, cutting the brush, showing the way. Just before the curve, He says, “Turn here.” Prior to the rise, He motions, “Step up here.” Standing next to the rocks, He warns, “Watch your step here.”
He leads us. He tells us what we need to know when we need to know it. As a New Testament writer would affirm: “We will find grace to help us when we need it’ (Heb. 4:16 NLT)
Listen to a different translation: “Let us therefore boldly approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may receive mercy and in His grace find timely help” (Heb. 4:16 NEB).
4. God’s help is timely. He places himself between you and the need. And at the right time, He gives you the ticket. Wasn’t this the promise He gave His disciples? “When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry ahead of time about what you should say. Say whatever is given you to say at that time, because it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11).
God leads us. God will do the right thing at the right time. And what a difference that makes.Since I know His provision is timely, I can enjoy the present.“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matt. 6:34 MSG).
5. The key is this: Meet today’s problems with today’s strength. Don’t start tackling tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow’s strength yet. You simply have enough for today.
6. Think not of the amount to be accomplished, the difficulties to be overcome, but set earnestly at the little task near your elbow, letting that be sufficient for the day; for surely our plain duty is not to see what lies dimly at a distance but to do what lies clearly at hand. Jesus made the same point in fewer words: “So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt. 6:34).
7. God isn’t going to let you see the distant scene either. So you might as well quit looking for it. He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future. We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow. We only need to know He leads us and “we will find grace to help us when we need it” (Heb. 4:16, NLT).
SEVEN: IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE
(The burden of hopelessness)
"He restores my soul" (Psalm 23:3 NKJV)
1. Whatever, you are alone. And you have been alone for, well, you don’t know how long it has been. You have a problem. First, you were not made for this place. What’s worse, you aren’t equipped. You have no machete. No knife. No matches. No flares. No food. You aren’t equipped, but now you are trapped—and you haven’t a clue how to get out. But most of all, what about hopelessness? No idea where to turn. No hunch what to do.
2. What would it take to restore your hope? What would you need to reenergize your journey?Though the answers are abundant, three come quickly to mind:
• The first would be a person
You need someone who knows the way out.
• And from him you need some vision
You need someone to lift your spirits. You need someone to look you in the face and say, “This isn’t the end. Don’t give up. There is a better place than this. And I’ll lead you there.”
• And, perhaps most important, you need direction
If you have only a person but no renewed vision, all you have is company. If he has a vision but no direction, you have a dreamer for company. But if you have a person with direction—who can take you from this place to the right place—ah, then you have one who can restore your hope.
3. To use David’s words, “He restores my soul.” Our Shepherd majors in restoring hope to the soul. He is the perfect one to do so. He has the right vision. He reminds you that “you are like foreigners and strangers in this world” (1 Pet. 2:11). And he urges you to lift your eyes from the jungle around you to the heaven above you. “Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ.. See things from his perspective” (Col. 3:2 MSG).
4. David said it this way, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber.. The Lord watches over you ... the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life” (Ps. 121:1-7 NIV).
5. God, your rescuer, has the right vision. He also has the right direction. He made the boldest claim in the history of man when he declared, “I am the way” (John 14:6). People wondered if the claim was accurate. He answered their questions by cutting a path through the underbrush of sin and death ... and escaping alive. He’s the only One who ever did. And he is the only One who can help you and me do the same.
6. He has the right vision: He has seen the homeland. He has the right directions: He has cut the path. But most of all, he is the right person, for he is our God. Who knows the jungle better than the One who made it? And who knows the pitfalls of the path better than the One who has walked it?
7. Jesus doesn’t give hope by changing the jungle; he restores our hope by giving us himself. And he has promised to stay until the very end. “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20 NIV).
8. We all need that reminder. For all of us need hope. If so, call out for your Shepherd. He knows your voice. And he’s just waiting for your request.
EIGHT: A HEAVENLY EXCHANGE
(The burden of guilt)
"He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake" (Psalm 23:3 NKJV)
1. God is planning a party, a party to end all parties. Not a cookie party, but a feast. Not giggles and chitchat in the conference room, but wide-eyed wonder in the throne room of God. Citizens of heaven are righteous. R-i-g-h-t. All of us occasionally do what is right. A few predominantly do what is right. But do any of us always do what is right? According to Paul we don’t. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10 NKJV).
2. Righteousness is who God is. “Our God and Savior Jesus Christ does what is right” (2 Pet. 1:1). “God is a righteous judge” (Ps. 7:11 NIV). “The Lord is righteous, he loves justice” (Ps. 11:7 NIV). God’s righteousness “endures forever” (Ps. 112:3 NIV) and “reaches to the skies” (Ps. 71:19 NIV). Isaiah described God as “a righteous God and a Savior” (Isa. 45:21 NIV). On the eve of his death, Jesus began his prayer with the words “Righteous Father” (John 17:25 NIV).
The weight of weariness pulls you down. Self-reliance misleads you. Disappointments discourage you. Anxiety plagues you. But guilt? Guilt consumes you.
3. So what do we do? Our Lord is right, and we are wrong. His party is for the guiltless, and we are anything but. What do we do? I can tell you what I did. I confessed my need. And because God hears your plea, you’ll be given the same.
4. It was, at once, history’s most beautiful and most horrible moment. Jesus stood in the tribunal of heaven. Sweeping a hand over all creation, he pleaded, “Punish me for their mistakes. See the murderer? Give me his penalty. The adulteress? I’ll take her shame. The bigot, the liar, the thief? Do to me what you would do to them. Treat me as you would a sinner.” And God did. “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Pet. 3:18 NIV). Yes, righteousness is what God is, and, yes, righteousness is what we are not, and, yes, righteousness is what God requires. But “God has a way to make people right with him” (Rom. 3:21).
5. David said it like this: “He leads me in the paths of righteousness” (Ps. 23:3 NKJV). The path of righteousness is a narrow, winding trail up a steep hill. At the top of the hill is a cross. At the base of the cross are bags. Countless bags full of innumerable sins. Calvary is the compost pile for guilt. Would you like to leave yours there as well?
NINE: GET OVER YOURSELF
(The burden of arrogance)
"For His name’s sake..." (Psalm 23:3 NKJV)
1. Oh, the things God does to keep us humble. He does it for our own good, you know. Would God let you be saddled with arrogance? No way. This is one piece of luggage God hates. He doesn’t dislike arrogance. He doesn’t disapprove of arrogance. He’s not unfavorably disposed toward arrogance. God hates arrogance. What a meal of maggots does for our stomach, human pride does for God’s. “I hate pride and arrogance” (Prov. 8:13 NIV). “The Lord despises pride” (Prov. 16:5 NLT).
2. And the message of the Twenty-third Psalm is that we have nothing to be proud about either. We have rest, salvation, blessings, and a home in heaven—and we did nothing to earn any of it. Who did? Who did the work? The answer threads through the psalm like a silk thread through pearls.
“He makes me ...”
“He leads me ...”
“He restores my soul ...”
“You are with me .”
“Your rod and Your staff ... comfort me ...”
“You prepare a table .”
“You anoint my head .”
3. We may be the canvas, the paper, or the scalpel, but we are not the ones who deserve the applause. And just to make sure we get the point, right smack-dab in the middle of the poem, David declares who does. The shepherd leads his sheep, not for our names’sake, but “for His name’s sake.” Why does God have anything to do with us? For his name’s sake. No other name on the marquee. No other name up in lights. No other name on the front page. This is all done for God’s glory.
Why? What’s the big deal? Does God have an ego problem?No, but we do.
4. He takes the credit, not because he needs it, but because he knows we can’t handle it. We aren’t content with a bite of adulation; we tend to swallow it all. It messes with our systems. The praise swells our heads and shrinks our brains, and pretty soon we start thinking we had something to do with our survival. Pretty soon we forget we were made out of dirt and rescued from sin.
5. With the same intensity that he hates arrogance, God loves humility. The Jesus who said, “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29 NASB) loves those who are gentle and humble in heart. “Though the Lord is supreme, he takes care of those who are humble” (Ps. 138:6). God says, “I live with people who are ...humble” (Isa. 57:15). He also says, “To this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite” (Isa. 66:2 nasb). And to the humble, God gives great
treasures:
He gives honor: “Humility goes before honor” (Prov. 15:33 NRSV).
He gives wisdom: “With the humble is wisdom” (Prov. 11:2 NASB).
He gives direction: “He teaches the humble His way” (Ps. 25:9 NASB).
And most significantly, he gives grace: “God ... gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5).
And this reassurance: “He crowns the humble with salvation” (Ps. 149:4 NIV)
6. God loves humility. Could that be the reason he offers so many tips on cultivating it?
• Assess yourself honestly
Being humble doesn’t mean you think you have nothing to offer; it means you know exactly what you have to offer and no more. “Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you” (Rom. 12:3 Phillips).
• Don’t take success too seriously
Scripture gives this warning: “When your... silver and gold increase, ... your heart will become proud” (Deut. 8:13-14). Counteract this pride with reminders of the brevity of life and the frailty of wealth. Ponder your success and count your money in a cemetery, and remember that neither of the two is buried with you. “People come into this world with nothing, and when they die they leave with nothing” (Eccles. 5:15).
• Celebrate the significance of others
“In humility consider others better than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3 NIV). The truth is, every touchdown in life is a team effort. Applaud your teammates. When you have a chance to clap and cheer, do you take it? If you do, your head is starting to fit your hat size.
• Don’t demand your own parking place
This was the instruction of Jesus to his followers: “Go sit in a seat that is not important. When the host comes to you, he may say, ‘Friend, move up here to a more important place.’ Then all the other guests will respect you” (Luke 14:10). Demanding respect is like chasing a butterfly. Chase it, and you’ll never catch it. Sit still, and it may light on your shoulder. Maybe that’s why the Bible says, “Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it” (Prov. 27:2).
• Never announce your success before it occurs
Or as one of the kings of Israel said, “One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off" (1 Kings 20:11 NIV). Charles Spurgeon told, “If you had gone up as you came down, you would have come down as you went up.”
• Speak humbly
“Let no arrogance come from your mouth” (1 Sam. 2:3 NKJV). Don’t be cocky. People aren’t impressed with your opinions. Take a tip from Benjamin Franklin: [I developed] the habit of expressing myself in terms of modest diffidence, never using when I advance any thing that may possibly be disputed, the words certainly, undoubtedly, or any others that give the air of positiveness to an opinion; but rather I say, I conceive or I apprehend a thing to be so or so.. This habit I believe has been a great advantage to me.
• Live at the foot of the cross
Paul said, “The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging” (Gal.6:14). Do you feel a need for affirmation? Does your self-esteem need attention? You don’t need to drop names or show off. You need only pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this: The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. And that is a fact. So if you need to brag, brag about that. And check your chin occasionally.
TEN: I WILL LEAD YOU HOME
(The Burden of the Grave)
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4 NKJV)
1. There are narrow trails and dark valleys. Some shepherds choose the security of the barren pasture below. But the good shepherd doesn’t. He knows the path. He has walked this trail many times. Besides, he is prepared. Staff in hand and rod attached to his belt. With his staff he will nudge the flock; with his rod he will protect and lead the flock. He will lead them to the mountains.
2. David understood this annual pilgrimage. Before he led Israel, he led sheep. And could his time as a shepherd be the inspiration behind one of the greatest verses in the Bible? “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4 NKJV). For what the shepherd does with the flock, our Shepherd will do with us.
3. By virtue of this psalm, David grants us two important reminders that can help us surrender our fear of the grave:
• We all have to face it
“Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God” (Heb. 9:27 TEV). One wise man, however, urges us to face it squarely: “We all must die, and everyone living should think about this” (Eccles. 7:2). Moses gave the same exhortation. In the only psalm attributed to his pen, he prayed, “Teach us how short our lives really are so that we may be wise” (Ps.90:12).
• We don’t have to face death alone
David’s implied message is subtle but crucial. Don’t face death without facing God. Don’t even speak of death without speaking to God. He and he alone can guide you through the valley. Others may speculate or aspire, but only God knows the way to get you home. And only God is committed to getting you there safely.
“There are many rooms in my Father’s house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).
He is your personal Shepherd. And he is personally responsible to lead you home.
4. What God said to Moses, he says to you: “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exod. 33:14 NIV).
What God said to Jacob, he says to you: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go” (Gen. 28:15 NIV).
What God said to Joshua, he says to you: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5 NIV).
What God said to the nation of Israel, he says to you: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isa. 43:2 NIV).
5. The Good Shepherd is with you. And because he is with you, you can say what David said: “I will fear no evil; for You are m with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”.
TRAVELING LIGHT
MAX LUCADO
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