The twenty-third psalm is such a wonderful inspiration. It should be your go-to source for when you need to be picked up and hugged. The Lord is my shepherd, the one who is in charge. He knows where He taking me. He knows the way, where it’s challenging, and where it’s easy. It doesn’t matter because He’s going with me.

If God is your shepherd, you are blessed.

He takes me to places of comfort and peace. Perfect places of peace where I am rejuvenated and strengthened and rested. He takes care of all my needs. He knows exactly what I need, even when I don’t, and He has it all worked out.

And when we have to go through the scary places, my eyes are only on Him, so I don’t see anything to worry about. He makes me so comfortable in His presence, that I’m not stressed by anything, even if everyone around me is freaking out.

He blesses me and blesses me and blesses me. I am so blessed, I can’t get my arms around it all. It keeps spilling over. And still He blesses more. I am so happy to be with Him. And I know I will be with Him forever and ever. I never want to be away from my Shepherd.

God has always been a God of great love. As severe as He had to be with Israel in the Old Testament, He was always loving and forgave their many indiscretions. So, why do we assume that He is mad at us? Why do we feel the need to perform for His love? 

Guilt does not come from God.

Over and over, I pray with people who feel guilty because they don’t feel like they’ve earned God’s love. Not people who don’t go to church, Christian people who know the word of God. They set an unattainable standard for themselves about what it means to live as a Christian, then beat themselves up when they can’t reach it, or maintain it.

The truth is, God never set those standards in the first place. God’s commandment to us is to love Him above all other things, and love other people. All the other stuff, is self-imposed. How many hours a day you pray, how many chapters you read in the Bible, how many hours you devote to handing out tracks — that is all stuff that you do to yourself.

Should you spend time in prayer? Yes, of course. But there is no required time limit. Your time with God is personal and should be what you need for your personal growth.  Don’t be guilted by other people who say they spend hours on their knees. Not everyone is truthful about that anyway.

Should you be reading your Bible? Yep. How much and how often? Think of it like this, how much and how often do you need to eat? You can get away with skipping meals, but if you don’t eat on a regular basis, you’ll get sick. Get it? Work out your own level for what works for you, then stick to it. You need the word of God to guide you through life. Don’t neglect it, but don’t feel guilty if you miss some time. God understands.

Give yourself the same grace that God gives. We don’t live under law anymore. We live by grace. And grace allows for last-minute issues that we don’t see coming. Grace allows for being sick and exhausted. Grace knows the love of your heart, not how many doors you knock on.

If you feel guilty because you don’t feel good enough, that’s not from God. That’s a twisted lie of the enemy and you don’t have to live like that. Give it to Jesus. He’ll take it and drop kick it out of your life. Receive His grace and relax. He loves you just as you are. He loves you wildly and extravagantly. Receive it and be happy.

Thank God for all the good things He’s done for you.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. (Ps 37:4) This blessing that comes from God is not automatic. We have to do our part. We cannot give lip service to God and then expect Him to give us our hearts’ desires. We need to embrace His goodness and love Him totally and completely as the great love of our soul.

So how do you delight yourself in Him? Start with thinking about what He has done for you. Maybe you’ve been healed and delivered from pain and depression. Rejoice in that! That’s amazing. He protects you from fear so you never have to be afraid again. He gives you wisdom and understanding in areas that you give to Him. He gives you joy for sadness, peace for worry, and love for hate.

Stop and think about all that God has done and is doing for you. He is wonderful and loving and kind. Let your heart be full of His compassion and give it back to Him. Count your blessings, like the old song says. When you are truly thankful for your new life, you can delight in Him. You can stand in His presence with great joy because of who He is. Live like that, and the desires of your heart will come.

I believe that we live blinded to the real world of the spirit. It’s almost like the movie, The Matrix, where we live in a false reality, disbelieving the actual world we don’t see. The Bible describes so many things that we assume are metaphorical, when I think it is describing reality.

For instance, I love this verse in Isaiah 61:10

God cover us with salvation as a bride adorns herself with jewels.

For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

I think we are literally covered with salvation and righteousness in the spirit, and it is more beautiful than we know. God gave some serious thought to how to describe this. What is the one day that you will adorn yourself more carefully than any other day of your life?

If a girl is given the opportunity and means, she’s going to plan her wedding. She picks her earrings and shoes, and that dress is going to be amazing.

Well, think of that, times a million. That’s how God covers us with His salvation and righteousness. I can’t begin to imagine what it really looks like, but, I want to see it in the spirit.