God is Here

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
    he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I 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 overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

Mother Teresa once said, “God has identified himself with the hungry, the sick, the naked, and the homeless. Hunger, not only for bread, but for love, for care, to be somebody to someone. Nakedness, not of clothing only, but nakedness of that compassion that very few people give to the unknown. Homelessness, not only for a shelter made of stone, but that homelessness that comes from having no one to call your own.”

I like to hold these two thoughts in tension with one another–the profound provision and care of God exhibited in the 23rd psalm and Christ’s identification with the most needy and vulnerable among us. Taken together, they paint a picture of a God who will stop at nothing to love us. When life is all green pastures and still waters, God is there. When life falls apart so much that we feel death’s shadow hanging over us, God is there. 

The message of Jesus’ life as a homeless itinerant preacher who spent most of his time healing the sick and eating with sinners is that there is no length that God’s love won’t go to reach us. In our prosperity and renewal, we lift prayers of gratitude. In our suffering and loneliness, we still hear the whispers of divine love. God is our refuge and shelter. May you be reminded that you are God’s own beloved child.

Rev. Ryan Young