Again, "Shepherd me O God, beyond my want, beyond my fear, from death unto life." In recent days, amidst the chaos, I have been repeating the refrain to this song in my mind over and over again, like a mantra. It calms my spirit and helps me to be "shepherded" by God.
"Want" and "fear" are feelings that take life away from us. If we obsess on these feelings they can become death to our spirit. We can become disabled and immobilized. We do not feel the presence of God.
In a chapter in our book The Spacious Heart, (see link to the book in the right-hand column) my sister Sharon and I share ideas about the many ways fear has overwhelmed much of our culture. In the same book we write about how our wants, especially in material goods, have produced obsessive behaviors that consume our spirit. Both fear and want lead to alienation from ourselves and God.
Richard Rohr claims that the Bible uses the command or a version of "Fear not" some 365 times. Fear was as common in Biblical times as it is today. One of those times is where Jesus says "Do not be afraid, little flock, for the Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). The challenge for us, is to place our trust in the Kingdom of God rather than in the systems of this world. Truly easier said than done.
Regarding our "wants," we never seem to be satisfied. The advertising industry does a great job of telling us we are missing out on something to make us feel better, look better, and to be better than the "Joneses" next door. When is enough enough?
In the book we outline many other areas of our lives where we are "driven by culture," rather than being "drawn by God." Drivenness leads to death, while being drawn to God leads to life.
We can mitigate our drivenness by doing spiritual exercises that we list in our book. Silent contemplation, sacred breathing, meditative walking, meditating on scripture or music, to name a few.
"Shepherd me O God, beyond my want, beyond my fear, from death unto life." Just singing this refrain repeatedly in my head before I go to sleep, or when I wake up in the middle of the night fearing the fate of my grandchildren, or while I am doing some mundane task, draws me to God, and draws me to life. It helps me move into the Kingdom of God where "All [God's] things will be added unto [me]." This is currently a spiritual exercise for me.
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!"
"I will fear no evil, for thou art with me!"
"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!"
Amen.
