Let me tell you the fascinating story of a hillbilly songwriter who started out in life as a sheep-hand. Among his brothers he was the runt of the litter and so he always ended up with the grimy jobs. As if things weren’t tough enough for him, later in life he had the further misfortune of falling into ill-favour with the king in his land. The disgruntled king sent a posse of thugs after him to hunt him down and kill him. But, this resilient young hillbilly managed to evade capture, mostly by escaping into the desert. He spent months, even years on end scavenging for his livelihood but somehow he managed to eke out a living and keep himself and his family above water. This poor soul had more than his fair-share of grief. During one of his escapades his family was captured and abducted. After the initial trauma of this loss, his family was miraculously reunited with him but later on he again suffered loss when his son died soon after birth.
What if I told you that this tough-as-nails young hillbilly kept writing and playing his songs all the way through his travails and his triumphs? He wrote them while he was lazing with the sheep, he wrote them when he was on the run and he wrote them when his family was gone. What kind of songs do you think he sang? Later on when his fortunes changed and he went on from being hillbilly, rabble-rouser to esteemed diplomat and fine-diner, he kept on writing and playing his songs. His colourful life inspired hundreds of songs and a bucket load of valuable, hard-earned life-experience.
So what did this character have to say about his life? Well, here is a lyric from his most famous song:
“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.”
That doesn’t really sound like the blues, does it? It sounds too positive! Did he conveniently forget all the tough times that he’d gone through? Well, later in the same song he croons, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” and, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Now that sounds more like it!
This ole hillbilly turned high falutin diplomat had a walk with God which I still aspire to. His songs reveal a depth of trust which is incredibly admirable. The truth in what he is says in his songs is not that he praises God because God makes his problems disappear. It’s a lot deeper than that.
There are two different kinds of company that we can keep. There is the one kind of people that, when you’re with them, you still feel alone because they are not invested in you. If you’re going through hell they may offer you sympathy but, with them, your problem is not their problem. Then there’s another kind of company, the kind which hurts when you’re hurting and celebrates with you when things are going well. That’s the kind of company that God was to David. David sang,
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
David always seemed to remember that times of loss and heart-ache, stress, hunger, sleepless nights and terror don’t last forever. He knew that because his Lord was committed to him and emotionally invested in him, he never walked alone and that he would eventually find the peace and security that he was looking for. And he did. God always made sure that he got what he needed and he eventually delivered David from every enemy.
That’s what I learn about God. He’s not a dispassionate observer of my life’s proceedings. He doesn’t make my problems disappear when I click my fingers, but he is emotionally invested in me. When I hurt, he hurts, and that’s why I don’t have to feel alone. He is with me, and his goodness and his mercy follow me, and I will live in his house forever. That’s hope that can’t be stolen. Ever.
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