The LORD, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever .
So here is the reality of The Nineteen days. We never know when we are living them out. The Guidry’s are not really unique in this experience. I would guess that everyone of you has walked through their own Nineteen Days, innocent of the storm that was just over the horizon. The fact is that this was not my first journey through the Nineteen Days, but it is my first journey through them where I truly understood David’s heart as he penned this Psalm. How we walk out the Nineteen Days is a function of this Psalm. Sentence by sentence it is a guide written by a man who walked through his own Nineteen Days many times over.
He makes me lie down in green pastures
What a lovely picture in words. We can all envision ourselves laying out in luxurious grass, running our hands through it and wiggling our toes. I certainly do not want to ruin your revery but lets get back to the imagery of David’s psalm as a whole. It is easy to do when we go back to the Hebrew. Deshe’ Naveh, is translated “green pastures”. The imagery is a little more direct and specific. Deshe’ is not the color green but specifically refers to fresh grass, as opposed to withered, dry grass. It is the kind of grass that a shepherd would recognize as healthy and nutritious for his sheep. Naveh is a specific reference to a dwelling place for both sheep and shepherd. Nathan the prophet tells David that it was God who took him from the sheep and the “Naveh” to make him king. Scripture repeatedly uses this word for The Lord’s “habitation” or “dwelling place”. Deshe’ Naveh is not about a fuzzy, feel good place, it is about a place that promotes real health and wellness for us in the presence of our great shepherd, in the presence of our God. Like sheep we are all too ready to eat whatever toxic plants look good at the moment (yes sheep will poison themselves if left in an environment with plants toxic to them). It is only when we follow our shepherd that we will find the Deshe’ Naveh that we so desperately need.
So by now you are probably asking, what does this have to do with the Nineteen Days? It is easy to see and feel the Deshe’ Naveh in the sunny calm of the nineteen days. Too often we spend the Nineteen Days wiggling our toes in the grass instead of taking in the nutrition and wellness that is the provision of the Good Shepherd. Then when the fuzzy comfort of the sunshine is suddenly replaced by bitterness of the storm we think that the Deshe’ Naveh is gone and we run. Like silly sheep we run from the very place of health and wellness that God has made our habitation over some wind, thunder, lightning and rain. We are tempted to eat the toxic greenery, just because there it feels like the sun is shining. We break our legs in the rocky crags as we run to what appears to be shelter. Will the good shepherd track us down and beckon us back to the Deshe’ Naveh, even carry us while we heal? Amen and Amen YES! But he also honors our free will and if we do not surrender to the arms of the shepherd the results can be devastating to all.
I pray true health and wellness for you all. May you always choose to rest with Your Shepherd in the Deshe’ Naveh
Posted in Bible Study, Leukemia, Life and Ministry | Tagged David, Deshe', God, grass, health, hebrew, leukemia, Naveh, nineteen days, shepherd, Twenty Third Psalm, wellness | Leave a Comment »
The LORD, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever .
So here is the reality of The Nineteen days. We never know when we are living them out. The Guidry’s are not really unique in this experience. I would guess that everyone of you has walked through their own Nineteen Days, innocent of the storm that was just over the horizon. The fact is that this was not my first journey through the Nineteen Days, but it is my first journey through them where I truly understood David’s heart as he penned this Psalm. How we walk out the Nineteen Days is a function of this Psalm. Sentence by sentence it is a guide written by a man who walked through his own Nineteen Days many times over.
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
This premise is a must. It is not a theory, a cute saying or even a prayerful wish. It is only when you function within this Spiritual Truth without regard to apparent circumstances that you can look back at the Nineteen days without fear. This passage would of course be out of step if it was talking about a fulfillment of all my personal desires. The translation of the Hebrew word chacer here as “want” is unfortunate in a modern translation. This word is really about lacking basic needs (not even cultural and certainly not the “me” generational concept of needs). It could even be translated “become empty”. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because they lacked (chacer) ten righteous men. The reality is that the shepherd does not serve the “wants”/desires of His flock. He serves the needs of his flock as he guides them in His wisdom and for His purposes. It is when we release our own will to the Shepherd that we rest in the assurance that we will never “become empty”.
Posted in Bible Study, Leukemia, Life and Ministry | Tagged David, empty, guidry, hebrew, innocent, leukemia, nineteen days, psalm, want | Leave a Comment »
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:15-16
My original intent was to follow these nineteen days , day by day. This obviously did not happen, for a variety of reasons. One is certainly that processing the events of two years ago, now removed from the rigorous exigencies of Allana’s treatments and Bone Marrow Transplant recovery is not as structured, neat and clean as I thought I might be able to attain. As we pass through this season I can watch each of us quietly working through our feelings. When the busyness of the holidays passes for a minute and routine life emerges the stress of this process emerges in a variety of fashions. Still as a family we have the deep assurance that God is in control and that we have an eternal High Priest in His presence interceding on our behalf.
The frenzy of birth fades in the light of our celebration of our Saviors arrival on the scene. These days are filled with wonderful preparation and quiet enjoyment (with little sleep). We are blessed by the generosity of so many of you who will read this, as we were suddenly and unexpectedly blessed this year. Then as now I don’t know why I am surprised when I pray for provision and it comes in abundance. Presents are wrapped as Nisa is loved and coddled by so many. The preparations made over the previous month are in full use now. Allana is enjoying her Christmas blessing, drinking in Nisa’s presence having desired this particular beverage for so very long.
She wakes on Day 7, a little sore, her throat a bit raspy and maybe just a touch of fever. Not to worry, she did just give birth and the crazy weather is enough to make anyone a bit….
The preparations made over a lifetime by an all knowing God are about to be tested. Quiet joy and praises rise from home and ministry wrapped in one. So much has been put on hold as we waited for Nisa. We are already making plans for the Spring and Summer, mapping out what our lives and ministry will look like. We did not know that in less than two weeks everything would change, but God had been molding us into “change managers” for some time. Early in our journey to full-time ministry when I had left the Hospitality industry God had given me a word that I would only know what I would be doing and how we would be living 30 days at a time. It was frustrating and difficult but it prepared me for the runaway train ride that was coming.
Blessings,
Sam
Posted in Leukemia, Life and Ministry | Tagged Allana Guidry, assurance, birth, days, family, God, holiday, leukemia, Nineteen, Nisa, process, Sam | 1 Comment »
The frenzied posting, calling and emailing is over. Nisa Faith has been announced to the world. As we approached the day that we celebrate our Saviors birth, we finally get to truly celebrate Nisa’s coming.
D. A. Precious: And those cheeks! I’m so happy for you!
December 19, 2012 at 1:48am · Like
Allana Belrose Guidry: I know. They are getting lots of kisses
December 19, 2012 at 1:54am · Like · 2
Nisa’s cheeks are getting a lot of kisses. Allana is feeling a little more tired than usual….but then she just had a baby and she is not as young as she used to be.
We were prepared for all of the life changes that a newborn brings. Bassinet, Pack n Play, bottles, formula, car seat, diapers etc…. What we did not know was that God had also prepared us for the changes that most likely even on this day two years ago were beginning to take place in the depths of Allana’s bones (weird to type that and not mean it metaphorically). Eleven years of growth through struggle as a family, as individuals and as children of the Living God was about to be tested in a way that we had not imagined even in our wildest nightmares. Still even as we were prepared for Nisa’s arrival, God had prepared us for that which we could not have even begun to be ready for. So many crossroads where God directed what seemed the long and windy path. It seemed so foolish, as foolish as buying diapers and preparing a nursery for a baby that would never come.
Nisa was here, and the long and windy path would soon be clear.
Posted in Life and Ministry | Tagged Allana Guidry, faith, God, leukemia, Nineteen, Nisa, prepare, savior | Leave a Comment »
The frenzy of the night (Nisa was born at 9:40 pm) and the flush of the first day gives way to a wash of relief. The tensions of the past nine months; the fear at each ultrasound appointment; the waiting for the pronouncement that a new cycle of loss and grief would begin; they all fall away.
We joyfully prepare to bring Nisa home. I am not sure that my words can express Day 2 any better than the twinkle in Allana’s eyes. This Christmas gift is probably the best that we have ever received. The whole family rejoices at the absence of that fateful “talk” with Robert, Sami and Chayla. Each of us in our own way process the losses of the past in the joyous light of Nisa’s arrival. We cannot help think of the siblings in heaven, from the Crashing resonation of Josiah’s passing to the unheralded passing of Ezra Matthew. Day 2 becomes about rest, enjoyment and blessing. The gathering storm is still beyond the horizon. There is no sense of the deadly changes perhaps just beginning to take place. Still what would come does not erase the joy and peace of Day 2. It only serves to highlight it and to make me more thankful for God’s grace than ever.
Posted in Life and Ministry | Tagged Allana Guidry, birth, faith, family, God, grace, leukemia, love, Nisa | Leave a Comment »
Nineteen days, who knew that nineteen days would ever come to be so meaningful to me. I am not going to digress to the back story that builds the significance of these days. You can get a sense of the whole journey here. It represents the realization of on incredible Miracle in our lives and the beginnings of another. Day 1 will forever be a joyous day. We will celebrate the birth of Nisa Faith year after year. Day 1 is the culmination of nine months of a melange of concern, faith, fear, trust and surrender. It was a day of arrival, of life, of completion. It was a day of overt blessing. December 16th of 2012 was a joyous day. What Allana and I did not know, what we could not have known was that it was a day of provision, a day of strength given. I would be lying if I said that I sat at this computer with a solid thesis or a planned allegory. The reality is that this is my first opportunity to truly experience and embrace the nineteen days. When they occurred they were simply another nineteen days in the Christmas season and in 2013 we were still too deeply embroiled the Allana’s battle against Leukemia and the recovery from the Bone Marrow Transplant for me to experience them the way that I am this year.
Day 1 was not without its difficulties, ask any mother and she will tell you that this particular joy comes with its own brand of pain. Two dear friends who are expecting recently engaged in a tongue-in-cheek argument on Facebook concerning any man’s ability to truly conceive of the trials and eventual pains of pregnancy and birth. I do not even pretend (or desire) to really understand, preferring to stand by Allana’s side than in her place for this particular event. Chayla’s birth was a stroll in the park, Nisa’s was more like a kick in the gut and then a short sprint to the finish line (a race in which Nisa beat our doctor and surprised our nurse). Still, there she was, perfect, beautiful, a miracle from the hand of God. We basked in the joy of the now. We knew it was day one, but not that there were only 18 days left to this paragraph of our lives.
Posted in Life and Ministry | Tagged Allana Guidry, birth, blessing, days, leukemia, miracle, Nineteen, Sam Guidry, strength, surrender | 1 Comment »
Good Morning.
This is just a little note to say that I will be posting the entire “Nineteen Days” series today. It was 5 years ago that we were rejoicing over the birth of our Nisa Faith. 19 days later the world would come crashing down on us, changing our lives forever.
The Nineteen Days posts are reflections on this time in our lives.
Sam
Posted in Bible Study, Leukemia, Life and Ministry | Tagged Allana Guidry, birth, change, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, leukemia, Nisa Faith, Religion, Sam Guidry | Leave a Comment »
Had a great discussion concerning “About Faces” last week. In this pic we did not know that God had a huge direction change for our family coming in less than a year! Within two years we would move from our four bedroom colonial in a suburb of Detroit to full time ministry in West Toledo. So many of the Hupomone men and women throughout history have also had those “about face” moments. Abraham, Moses, David, Esther, Mary, Paul all had those “about face” experiences. In some cases like Paul, God turned them around multiple times throughout their lives. I would like to make some observations about these life changing events.
- These functional changes in direction for us do not mean that somehow God has made a sudden change of direction. While it is often very difficult in the moment to see the linear direction of God’s plan for us in the midst of great change, God is our ultimate example of Hupomone. He is completely steadfast and unchanging in character, activity and plan. Even as we are executing an extreme change in direction we can take comfort in the fact that we are simply moving forward in God’s plan for our lives. If we truly grasp this truth the massive changes we experience suddenly become less imposing and threatening. In fact we can embrace them as an expression of God’s love.
- These changes in direction are powered by God’s loving, divine purpose for our lives. While they never indicate a change (because he never changes) in God’s character, they most certainly involve changes in us as we mature towards truly having the mind of Christ. It is important for us to examine ourselves as we move through changes in direction to see not only what God has for us functionally but also how he desires to impact us in our very character and in our relationship with Him and with those around us.
- Anyone who has sailed knows that changing direction is a tricky business. It needs to be planned out and executed with precision. Failure to do so may find one’s sails aback and one’s momentum lost. The heavier the seas the more dangerous our situation can become. When we sense a major change in direction coming it is important that we wait on God and not try push the change through on our own. It is also important that we do not balk at God’s direction. Continuing the sailing metaphor He will guide us through the coming about maneuver. When we react to the change with pride, thinking we can push through on our own or with fear and refuse to steer the course then we risk missing the divine wind of the Holy Spirit. The good news is that our Hupomone God is always ready reset the sails and take us through the maneuver again (and sometimes again, and again) but how amazing it is when we follow and catch the Holy Spirit strong in our sails.
- Finally this kind of directional change is a direct result of your relationship with God. While God can provide guidance through those around you, if someone is trying to mandate or manipulate a major change in your life you need to carefully measure it against Scripture and against your relationship with Jesus Christ. It is only through that relationship and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit that God’s Hupomone qualities will shine through.
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
Posted in Life and Ministry | Leave a Comment »
Best Friend- a person’s closest friend. (Google Dictionary)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God…1 Corinthians 6:19
A best friend, what a precious thing to have. Most of us at different times in our lives have had a best friend. For those of us who spent a lot of time moving around we may have had several. I have known best friends who were so close that it almost seemed like they were inside each others hearts and minds. The author of Proverbs 18 puts it this way:
A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24
Today I want to give you three ways that the Holy Spirit is our best friend as followers of Jesus Christ.
The first we have already touched on. The Holy Spirit is the closest friend that we will ever have. The Holy Spirit lives inside the believer. I don’t pretend to understand the mechanism of this indwelling but I experience its reality. The Holy Spirit is closer to me than my brother or any friend that I could ever have. The cool thing is that not only does the Spirit live inside me, the Holy Spirit lives in all God’s people so that I am impacted through my brothers and sisters in Christ even as I am transformed from the inside.
Secondly best friends have an indelible effect on us. Our behavior, our very identity is shaped by the friends around us and particularly by those we consider to be in the best category. Paul in his letter to Titus says:
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, he accepts us based on the undeniable presence of the Holy Spirit who changes us forever in a process of regeneration and renewal that puts on the road to conforming to the mind of Christ.
Finally best friends are there to help. I can only imagine that the paralytic who was lowered through the roof in front of Jesus had multiple best friends who were looking out for his best interest. The Holy Spirit is the best of the best friends in this area. The Spirit is sent by the Father at the behest of the Son demonstrating the united front of the Trinity. The Spirit’s divine nature engages us and when we open ourselves to that nature becomes helper, guide, comforter. Where Jesus stood in the lives of his disciples, the Holy Spirit stands in the heart of his followers.
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that he may be with you forever. John 14:16
We have this wonderful best friend. One that is closer to us than any other. One that desires to transform us and renew us into that reflects the very nature of God. One that is there to help us walk out this life as children of God. One that perhaps we fail to acknowledge, to share and share with, to truly depend on as the best friend sent straight from God into our hearts. One that is God himself. How is your relationship with your best friend?
Posted in Bible Study, Life and Ministry | Tagged best friend, closer, closest, God, Holy Spirit, hupomone, Paul, titus | Leave a Comment »
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