He Told Me So

As a nanny, I can't count how many times I've had to say, or at least think, "if only you had listened to me." It seems like no matter what the sense behind my instructions most kids, at one time or another, will test me by trying exactly what I told them not to do. It's as though they are compelled to find out just how stupid it really was.

And as many times as this has happened with my kids, it's happened with me. I am endlessly feeling the Lord say to me, "Why didn't you just listen?" After all, if I think I know how to help my kids navigate through life, certainly the God of all creation knows how to get me through mine.

I've just had the pleasure of re-reading Phillip Keller's amazing book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. It's a compelling look at the familiar Psalm from the view of someone who knows just what a shepherd is to his sheep... and what the sheep are to the shepherd. There is nothing like getting to know our Lord and Savior better, and this book gives such insight into His character.

I keep telling myself I should only have one singular focus - getting to know Him. The more I know Him, the more like Him I'm bound to become. And as I become more like Him, I can't help but be a better person, and a better witness.

And I'm realizing more and more how spectacular it is to see the peace that comes from focusing on Him. When I realize that He is there to guide me in every single aspect of life, and that He has promised to provide all I ever need, I'm filled with an amazing sense of peace. It's the difference between becoming anxious about life and walking through it with the knowledge that all will be well. Whether it measures up to what I had hoped for or not, I can trust that if I walk in faith, all will turn out as it is meant to be.

What a relief to realize I'm not responsible to make every decision and choose every path - He is!