They killed my dog!

The old western mining camp had been raided by a group of bad guys, all intent on running the migrant miners from their make-shift camp.  In the raid, houses were demolished, mining equipment was destroyed, an old man was killed, several others were injured, and a young girl's dog was shot and killed.

While burying her dog, the young girl was quoting lines from Psalm 23.  The words in parenthesis  are the commentary words from the distraught girl.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want. (but I do want.)

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
 He restores my soul; (but they killed my dog!)
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; (but I am afraid.)
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (I am not feeling comfort right now.)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over. (I have never had an over flowing cup.)
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever. (But I would like something good to happen to me in this life!)

Okay, I will admit the girl was speaking from a broken heart after losing her dog, but as I read her comments to the words which I have considered sacred and pure, I must admit this young girl has painted a life-picture of us.......and yes, we are all in the picture.

While we can still receive strength and encouragement from this familiar psalm, we have to admit there are times when we echo the girl's sentiments.  Knowing bad things will come our way, and sorrow and despair will find their way into life's events, we, too, read the comforting words and often doubt God.  We question his presence, we fear we have done something to cause him to leave us, we question his abiding love.

I am thinking the psalm is familiar to almost all of us.  So when we read it again, this time skipping the words in parenthesis, and making the application of these strong Bible verses, our faith in God and his workings through us, will cause us to see again his truth.  His promises are sure.  His care and concern for his people cannot be argued.  In spite of our sin, our cup continues to over flow.

He really does want you to dwell in his house forever.

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