You anoint my head with oil.

I hear that part of the verse and after having read these chapters it’s like a burden lifted off my heart. I am combining chapters 14 & 15 because I feel like the two go pretty well together, the burden of shame and disappointment. We do something we should not and feel shame which leads to disappointment in ourselves. Before reading this book I had no clue whatsoever about what that part of the Psalm meant. I just assumed it was something about blessing us. No doubt it is a blessing to have the LORD anoint our head with oil but I just did not make the connection with the sheep. Again I am in awe over how similar we are to the sheep. We need our Shepherd to take care of us.

None of us are perfect beings. We all slip up and have our moments when we feel shame. It’s so easy to fall in old habits and our shame can eat away at our heart. It will make us feel like we are not good enough for anything and it’s easy to start believing it. Well you’re not hiding anything from God, He knows your heart and He knows your shame. He wants you to bring what you are struggling over and lay it down before Him. Confess your shame over what you have done and He will lift your heart as you ask for forgiveness. And don’t’ forget to forgive yourself. Don’t carry around the emotional baggage. Go to the table the LORD has prepared and He will restore you.

Disappointments. We have them everyday. Sometimes big ones and sometimes lots of little ones. We are disappointed because someone didn’t take the trash out like we asked. We are disappointed because this is not where we saw ourselves in this stage of our lives. We are disappointed because we didn’t get the promotion. We are disappointed because we didn’t get in and out of the grocery store as quick as we thought we should. The list of thing we get disappointed on can go on forever. What have you been disappointed about today or recently? Where does it fall in scale to the big picture God has created for you?

It should come as such a relief the way the Shepherd takes care of His sheep; He also takes care of us. The sheep have to bow their heads to have the oil anointed on their head. Don’t you feel maybe you should bow your head in prayer letting go of your burdens to be anointed with the oil? Just because things don’t always go the way WE plan does not mean that they aren’t in God’s plans. You can ask “why” all you want now but it’s not for you to question his will. We have to trust him. I like the way Max Lucado wraps up the end of this chapter.

“The sheep doesn’t understand why the oil repels the flies. The sheep doesn’t understand how the oil heals the wounds. In fact, all the sheep knows is that something happens in the presence of the shepherd. And that’s all we need to know as well. “Lord, I give myself to you; my God, I trust you” (Ps.25:12). Go. Bow. Trust. Worth a try, don’t you think?” (Page 130 of Traveling Light)


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