Psalm 23 v 4
Your Rod and Staff Comfort Me are metaphors
“We need, in love, to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily; we do not need to learn it.” Rainer Maria Rilke, Translations from the Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke
This is true; clinging unnecessarily to a person, a feeling, an ideal, or a value comes easily. But when that thing becomes destructive, letting go is the hard part.
John Callahan aids our understanding of these critical metaphors.
During times of struggle and danger, Jesus is there to comfort us. While the rod and the staff are used for protection and discipline, it is essential to notice that the goal is comfort. The meaning of the Hebrew word for rod (sebet) and staff (mishena) is extraordinary. The Hebrew word – sebet has the idea of a stick. It originally referred to a part of a tree. In old Hebrew, the stick was used to count sheep and protect them from other animals (Leviticus 27.32). God is using his rod and staff to comfort you. The Hebrew word for comfort in nhm means comfort or to console and has a strong emotional sense.
Wow, I find that really comforting, do you? God keeps a tally of us. He counts us so he knows which one is missing when we go astray. He uses that same counting measure to protect us from evil. After all, Jesus taught us to pray to ‘deliver us from the evil one’. But he needs our permission to do that. That is why the Lord’s prayer is an asking prayer, not a declaration prayer.
The staff guides and draws us back into the fold when we stray. God has all the bases covered; all we need to do is allow God to act on our behalf. Allow God to protect and comfort you; I believe this is a daily thing. Each new day arrives with new challenges, and to refresh our memory and commitment to allow God to act on our belief is part of our relationship with him.
So, take up the challenge today to let go and let God.
Love & Grace
Paula Rose Parish IHS
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📚Psalm 23 Unwrapped: Hope in Difficult Times.
