Restores my soul

Monday May 4th, Psalm 23: He makes me lie down in green pastures, and leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul and guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. There is a restoring that goes on in the presence of the Lord. When we gather in the word, when we hear the stories, when we feel the presence of a loving community, we are refreshed and restored. Sometimes we like to take our own paths in life and claim them as the Lord, when we do, we find a community broken, restoration is broken, anger grows, selfishness and war break out as self defeating self defense moves. When we again look to the Lord and the ways of the Lord, we find a grace filled community filled with healing and wholeness. We find the paths of righteousness, righteousness that comes from God and in the company of our brothers and sisters. The righteousness that comes from the self, self-righteousness, lives alone in a world of conflict and points to what others are doing wrong. The path of righteousness that comes from God is the path that leads through brokenness to wholeness and peace that can only come from God.