Book Review: Traveling Light by Max Lucado

I have been sick for a long time. I have many chronic illnesses but the one I am praising God for letting me know about is migraines because since I have been treating them, I have got the gift of being able to read back. In the past month I have read 4 books and I am so excited that I finally got to read this book, which was a gift from my friend Sarah. Traveling Light discovers truths shown to us in the 23rd Psalm. I have read more than one book that talks about this Psalm, written by King David, but I really enjoyed this one. Max Lucado took it slow and broke each part of the Psalm down really well.

Along the way, I was reminded of important lessons, but first I want to take a moment and share the 23rd Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, 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.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever. (New King James Version)

In this beautiful Psalm, King David tells us who God is, He is our protector and provider, He wants the best for us, He makes plans for us, He is our Healer, and He has chosen us because that is who He is. He knows we will go through terrifying things but He is always with us because He never leaves us. He is our comforter. He blesses us regardless of others. He protects us from injury to our soul. He gives us everything we need right now. He lets us know we are His.

“God is Yahweh — an unchanging God, an uncaused God, and an ungoverned God.” Max Lucado, Traveling Light.

God is who I have always needed because He is the only constant that doesn’t change. Nobody else was able to give that to me, no matter how hard they tried because the earth is unstable, people are messy and life happens — but God who doesn’t have a body can be ever present and has always been present and will always be present was always there to protect and provide the help I needed. I knew that from the moment I met him when I was 5 years old, in my back yard. I was all alone and then I knew I wasn’t alone and I never was again. Was our relationship perfect? No, because I had and have a lot of unlearning to do, but it was and is constant.

“Unfortunately, sheep cannot find safe pasture, nor can they spray insecticide, deal with the frictions, or find food. They need help. They need a shepherd to ‘lead them’ and help them ‘lie down in green pastures.’ Without a shepherd they can’t rest. Without a shepherd, neither can we.” Max Lucado, Traveling Light.

Sheep are stupid and incapable of caring for or protecting themselves. I would never want to be a sheep on earth because I might get a bad or careless shepherd but God is an ever-loving God that never gets tired; with Him as my Shepherd I am proud to be His sheep. He will never lead me in the wrong direction, even when I thought I was hearing Him, but it was actually me, He still made a way to bless me and Himself, because He is a loving Shepherd and Father.

1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at the appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

I love this verse. It really spoke to me. I have probably read it before but I missed it. But I got it this time. We are so worried about how things look. We are so worried about what other’s think about us. You know what? It only matters what God our Shepherd thinks and He knows how to look at our hearts, where He can see everything: the why’s, how’s, when’s…

All of this worry leads to anxiety and anxiety splits our energy between today’s priorities and tomorrow’s problems. The result is half-minded living.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Matthew 6:34
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

It is a waste of time to look to the distant future because God promised a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future. We do not need to know the future. We need to trust that God will lead us and provide the grace we need, as we need it. Our shepherd knows what bogs us down and makes us feel lost but He also restores our soul so we can find relief and freedom from stress and anxiety.

While I read this book, I realized I have trapped myself, waiting for something to change in my circumstances for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, God has still been there and protected me, healed me, taught me and loved me, but I let myself feel stuck. Maybe that was part of His plan too. Sometimes God has been known to to shut people down so He can do things in the background…But I am excited to say, “Thank You,” to Him because my circumstance have been exactly what I needed and still are until He decides it is time to tell me to take the next step.

I want to say Thank you to Sarah for this book and if you get the chance to read it, I hope you enjoy Traveling Light as much as I did.

If you want to get your own copy buy Traveling Light by Max Lucado on Amazon.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.

Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:

Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.

I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.

I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.