MY FAITH JOURNEY
By Kevin R. Schultz
Some people would call this their Grief Journey, but for me it is a journey of faith for I will only make it through this because of my faith in the Lord and the help from my families (both my church and my relatives) and friends (old and new).
9-10-2023
Approximately three months ago after fighting one illness after another for at least five years straight my wife finally decided she had enough. All of this took its toll on her and she opted for hospice, she said “she was tired of fighting and she wanted to go home” (to be with the Lord).
Now at first this was a little hard, okay a lot harder to take than I thought it would be. Here is how the Lord calmed my spirit on this.
On my way to visit my wife the next day I bumped my cell phone and turned on my bible study app, I would say this was an accident but when the verses came up on the screen I knew better. The scripture that came up was Psalm 23 and I will explain why and what was so calming about these particular verses.
Psalm 23 (NASB)
1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
With God guiding me I know my needs will be taken care of, in this case the strength to make it through this journey. He will do this by putting the right scripture verses and or the right people in my life at the time they are needed. I do pray that people will see the light of Christ lighting my path during this journey.
Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-13; John 10:11; 1 Peter 2:25; Philippians 4:19; Psalms 34:9-10; Revelations 7:17
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
God is telling me to rest in Him, let Him guide me in my journey.
Ezekiel 34:14; Revelation 7:17; Psalm 36:8
For you see God already knows what I need and more importantly when I need it.
Psalm 139:10; Isaiah 49:10; Ezekiel 34:15
3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
God will strengthen me when I falter, He will lead me in the right direction, He will show me how to give comfort to others so I can be a light to others, thus being comforted by doing God’s will.
Psalm 19:7; Proverbs 4:11; Psalm 143:11
God will be there guiding down this path with the knowledge and wisdom I gain from His word.
Psalm 85:13;Proverbs 4:11; Psalm 73:24; Isaiah 42:16; Psalm 109:21
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.
The valley being referred to here is a very very dark as described in 10:21-22. Go walked us through this valley Psalm 107:14, which also describes what Christ did with our salvation. ( He broke the bonds of sin and death and now we can enter into the Kingdom of God through Christ Jesus.)
When walking through this valley I cannot be afraid for God is with me.
Psalms 3:6, 27:1; Deuteronomy 31:6, 31:8; Joshua 1:5; 2 Kings 1:16; Hebrews 13:5
God will always be the head of my life and my household. And I will always trust in God
Psalm 16:8; Isaiah 43:2; Daniel 3:19-30
In Daniel we see where Jesus stood with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the blazing furnace and not even their clothes were damaged. How can I be fearful when God is going to be with me and my wife Karen as we go through this.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
How great of a God do I serve, who is always looking out for me. He can prepare a table for me (protect me) even when my enemies surround me. Even when they spoke against Him and challenged Him.
Psalm 78:19
Anointed (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
a-noint’, a-noint’-ed (aleipho, chrio): Refers to a very general practice in the East. It originated from the relief from the effect of the sun that was experienced in rubbing the body with oil or grease. Among rude people the common vegetable or animal fat was used. As society advanced and refinement became a part of civilization, delicately perfumed ointments were used for this purpose. Other reasons soon obtained for this practice than that stated above. Persons were anointed for health (Mr 6:13), because of the widespread belief in the healing power of oil. It was often employed as a mark of hospitality (Lu 7:46); as a mark of special honor (Joh 11:2); in preparation for social occasions (Ruth 3:3; 2Sam 14:2; Isa 61:3). The figurative use of this word (chrio) has reference strictly to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the individual (Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; Acts 10:38). In this sense it is God who anoints (Heb 1:9; 2Cor 1:21). The thought is to appoint, or qualify for a special dignity, function or privilege. It is in this sense that the word is applied to Christ (Joh 1:41 m; Acts 4:27; Acts 10:38; Heb 1:9; compare Ps 2:2; Dan 9:25).
See also ANOINTING.
a-noint’-ing: A distinction was made by the ancient Hebrews between anointing with oil in private use, as in making one’s toilet (cukh), and anointing as a religious rite (mashach).
1. Ordinary Use:
(1) As regards its secular or ordinary use, the native olive oil, alone or mixed with perfumes, was commonly used for toilet purposes, the very poor naturally reserving it for special occasions only (Ru 3:3). The fierce protracted heat and biting lime dust of Palestine made the oil very soothing to the skin, and it was applied freely to exposed parts of the body, especially to the face (Ps 104:15).
(2) The practice was in vogue before David’s time, and traces of it may be found throughout the Old Testament (see Deut 28:40; Ruth 3:3; 2Sam 12:20; 2Sam 14:2; 2Sam 14:2 Chron 28:15; Ezek 16:9; Mic 6:15; Dan 10:3) and in the New Testament (Mt 6:17, etc.). Indeed it seems to have been a part of the daily toilet throughout the East.
(3) To abstain from it was one token of mourning (2Sa 14:2; compare Mt 6:17), and to resume it a sign that the mourning was ended (2Sam 12:20; 2Sam 14:2; Dan 10:3; Judith 10:3). It often accompanied the bath (Ruth 3:3; 2Sam 12:20; Ezek 16:9; Susanna 17), and was a customary part of the preparation for a feast (Eccl 9:8; Ps 23:5). One way of showing honor to a guest was to anoint his head with oil (Ps 23:5; Luke 7:46); a rarer and more striking way was to anoint his feet (Lu 7:38). In Jas 5:14, we have an instance of anointing with oil for medicinal purposes, for which see OIL.
2. Religious Use:
Anointing as a religious rite was practiced throughout the ancient East in application both to persons and to things.
(1) It was observed in Canaan long before the Hebrew conquest, and, accordingly, Weinel (Stade’s Zeutschrift, XVIII, 50 ff) holds that, as the use of oil for general purposes in Israel was an agricultural custom borrowed from the Canaanites, so the anointing with sacred oil was an outgrowth from its regular use for toilet purposes. It seems more in accordance with the known facts of the case and the terms used in description to accept the view set forth by Robertson Smith (Religion of the Semites, 2nd ed., 233, 383 ff; compare Wellhausen, Reste des arabischen Heidenthums, 2nd ed., 125 ff) and to believe that the cukh or use of oil for toilet purposes, was of agricultural and secular origin, and that the use of oil for sacred purposes, mashach, was in origin nomadic and sacrificial. Robertson Smith finds the origin of the sacred anointing in the very ancient custom of smearing the sacred fat on the altar (matstsebhah), and claims, rightly it would seem, that from the first there was a distinct and consistent usage, distinguishing the two terms as above.
(2) The primary meaning of mashach in Hebrew, which is borne out by the Arabic, seems to have been “to daub” or “smear.” It is used of painting a ceiling in Jer 22:14, of anointing a shield in Isa 21:5, and is, accordingly, consistently applied to sacred furniture, like the altar, in Ex 29:36 and Da 9:24, and to the sacred pillar in Ge 31:13: “where thou anointedst a pillar.”
(3) The most significant uses of mashach, however, are found in its application, not to sacred things, but to certain sacred persons. The oldest and most sacred of these, it would seem, was the anointing of the king, by pouring oil upon his head at his coronation, a ceremony regarded as sacred from the earliest times, and observed religiously not in Israel only, but in Egypt and elsewhere (see Judg 9:8; Judg 9:15; 1Sam 9:16; 1Sam 10:1; 2Sam 19:10; 1Kgs 1:39; 1Kgs 1:45; 2Kgs 9:3; 2Kgs 9:6; 2Kgs 11:12). Indeed such anointing appears to have been reserved exclusively for the king in the earliest times, which accounts for the fact that “the Lord’s anointed” became a synonym for “king” (see 1Sam 12:3; 1Sam 12:5; 1Sam 26:11; 2Sam 1:14; Ps 20:6). It is thought by some that the practice originated in Egypt, and it is known to have been observed as a rite in Canaan at a very early day. Tell el-Amarna Letters 37 records the anointing of a king.
(4) Among the Hebrews it was believed not only that it effected a transference to the anointed one of something of the holiness and virtue of the deity in whose name and by whose representative the rite was performed, but also that it imparted a special endowment of the spirit of Yahweh (compare 1Sam 16:13; Isa 61:1). Hence the profound reverence for the king as a sacred personage, “the anointed” (Hebrew, meshiach YHWH), which passed over into our language through the Greek Christos, and appears as “Christ”.
(5) In what is known today as the Priestly Code, the high priest is spoken of as “anointed” (Exod 29:7; Lev 4:3; Lev 8:12), and, in passages regarded by some as later additions to the Priestly Code, other priests also are thus spoken of (Exod 30:30; Exod 40:13-15). Elijah was told to anoint Elisha as a prophet (1Ki 19:16), but seems never to have done so. 1Ki 19:16 gives us the only recorded instance of such a thing as the anointing of a prophet. Isa 61:1 is purely metaphorical (compare Dillmann on Le 8:12-14 with ICC on Nu 3:3; see also Nowack, Lehrbuch der hebraischen Archaologie, II, 124).
LITERATURE.
Jewish Encyclopedia, article “Anointing”; BJ, IV, ix, 10, DB, article “Anointing,” etc.
George B. Eager
Jacob W. Kapp
In biblical times they would use oil to protect themselves from the sun. But think how much more protection we are going to have being anointed by God.
Psalm 92:10
As we do God’s will in our lives, our blessings will always continue to increase.
Psalms 16:5, 31:19, 73:10, 141:5; Proverbs 27:9; Isaiah 6:13
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.
God is showing me with these verses that He will be here with both of us as we are going through all the different stages of Karen’s hospice.
Psalm 25:6; Proverbs 20:28; Daniel 9:4
When I first started this project I started to feel the loss already. However, going through the scripture helped. Knowing that God is going to be there walking with me does wonders for the spirit.
I know things are going to get tougher as Karen gets closer to God and farther away from me, the lonelier I will feel. This journey is only going to get harder and yet easier as I dive into scripture. And with the support from my family and friends.
Koffee's House 