I SHALL NOT WANT FOR RESTORATION

He restores my soul – Psalm 23:3a

The result of rest and refreshment is a RESTORED SOUL. The shepherd would often compel the sheep to lie down to eat and drink only that which was beneficial to them, in order that they be restored. “He restores my soul”, because I am precious in His sight! He restores my soul to a right relationship with Him. He restores my soul to its ideal condition. In computer imagery, I might say, the Lord “reboots my system,” resets it to all the original settings, and restores original function. Jehovah-Rohi addresses the weakness and weariness of my flesh and personal, human frailties.

The tendency in the sheep is to stray and wander away from the fold. When that occurs, it is not given to the sheep to find the shepherd. He could never do it. It is the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine in the fold, to go forth and seek that one lost sheep (Lk.15:4-7). Tenderly, he picks that stray lamb up in his arms and carries him back to where he belongs. A sheep might trip, fall, and be unable to get off its back and die. The watchful shepherd would quickly restore the sheep to its feet again. God, our Great Shepherd specializes in such glorious restorations.

When perchance you wander into the world, when you stray into sinfulness or you lose touch with the divine presence, His heart goes out to you, like the Father’s to his prodigal son (Lk.15: 22). Sheep may desert the shepherd; but the Shepherd never deserts the sheep. You didn’t find Him; He wasn’t lost. You were! Thank God, He found you! Some sheep are even “lost in the church”, buried in religious rituals, shrouded in charismatic gymnastics, lost in Pentecostal busy-ness, but spiritually a million miles away from God. Like Martha, all such sheep need restoration (Lk.10:41-42).

Through His Word, the Shepherd of our souls persistently brings us to a place of soul restoration: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul…” (Ps.19:7a). Following the regeneration of our spirit, God focuses on the renewal of the soul through the Word. Therefore, though our outer man decays, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day (2 Cor.4:16).