The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want… He restores my soul. Psalm 23:1, 3
God commands us not to be slothful in zeal, but to be fervent in spirit. But we don’t have it in ourselves to obey his commands.
When Augustine looked at the commands of God, he said, “Command what you will, only give what you command!” All of God’s commands call us to action, but we depend on him in any action that we take.
David says, “He restores my soul!” This is something God does. Christ died to save his people, and he lives to keep his people; and because we easily grow cold, “keeping us” means often restoring our souls.
Aren’t you glad that God does this? And you can trust him to do this! He may do it through a sermon in which you know that he is speaking to you. He may do it through the visit and kindness of a friend. He can even do it through a YouTube™ video that hits you between the eyes! But whatever the means, it is the Lord who restores your soul.
This is what he does! So when you are jaded, run down, lethargic, when you have lost your motivation and you are in a funk, you can come to God and ask him to restore your soul.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (Jas. 4:8). He is your Shepherd. He leads you. He feeds you. And when you are lacking in zeal, he is able to restore your soul.
So come to Christ now and ask him to give you what you do not have! “Restore to me the joy of your salvation! Give me a willing spirit, to sustain me!” (Psa. 51:12).
