Restored Souls

A friend recently gave my wife a little book written by Max Lucado, titled Safe in the Shepherd’s Arms. It is a series of short reflections on the 23rd Psalm. In it Max writes,

…Life is a jungle. Not a jungle of trees and beasts. Would that it were that simple. Would that our jungles could be cut with a machete or our adversaries trapped in a cage. But our jungles are comprised of the thicker thickets of failing health, broken hearts, and empty wallets. Our forests are framed with hospital walls and divorce courts. We don’t hear the screeching of birds of the roaring of lions, but we do hear the complaints of neighbors and the demands of bosses. Our predators are our creditors, and the brush that surrounds us is the rush that exhausts us. It’s a jungle out there. And for some, even for many, hope is in short supply.

Yep. I think he nailed it. And jungles such as these can be overwhelmingly fearful places to be—places where hope can be in short supply. But, as Max points out, God can restore hope in the same way God can restore souls. He goes on to write,

Whether you are a lamb lost on a craggy ledge or a city slicker alone in a deep jungle, everything changes when [the Shepherd] appears. Your loneliness diminishes…your despair decrease because you have vision. Your confusion begins to life because you have direction. Please note: You haven’t left the jungle. The trees still eclipse the sky, and the thorns still cut the skin. Animals lurk and rodents scurry. The jungle is still a jungle. It hasn’t changed, but you have. You have hope.

The Shepherd can appear in many guises. A friend who slips you a little book to bolster your spirit. Another who drops you a card with a warm and loving note. Still another who sends a card that makes you erupt in laughter when laughter seems such a forgotten experience. A hug. A whispered, “It’s going to be OK. Don’t know what it’s going to look like, but it’s going to be OK.” The phone call that concludes with, “I’m praying for you.” These are the urban jungle’s machetes that hack away the strangling vines and help point the way toward a sense of hope.

It’s a jungle out there. But, it’s not one you in which you are alone and lost.

Peace,

Jerry+