"It was good except you forgot the line, 'He restores my soul,'" was my wife's response to my attempt to quote Psalm 23 on our way into town yesterday. As soon as she said it I was impacted by the truth and an irony.

Have you ever gotten so caught up in the fight that you lost sight of where the strength for the battle comes from? It is amazing how easy it is to do. Eager to make a difference, willing to lay it all on the line, we jump into the fray only to find ourselves sputtering mid-battle as the strength runs out.

Quenching the thirst of the thirsty is a great thing, but we won’t have any water to give if we don’t first draw from the well. The same is true "on mission.” While sincerely attempting to “do God’s work", we can easily lose sight of the reality that the call to "Make Him Known" is proceeded by the invitation to "Know Him”.

Through my wife’s response yesterday I was reminded of the truth that our strength is most restored in HIS presence. The irony was that while “practicing a spiritual discipline” I ended up leaving out the whole "He restores my soul” part. Still a work in progress!

Psalm 23:2-3 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. HE restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Isaiah 40:29-31 "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Psalm 27:11 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

- Micah McElveen