I have read Psalm 23 a large number of times, partly because it’s the most common psalm that is on display in stores and in businesses that put it up, but also because it is commonly used in devotionals that I read. Personally, I feel like I have read it so many times that I have not fully taken in all of the true meaning of the words. I decided that this time I would read it slowly, line by line, instead of just in one big excerpt.
The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. With God in my life, He is the provider, and I have what I need to survive. I may not have everything that I want, but I have nice clothes to wear, food to eat, and a home to live in. Sheep do not worry about their needs; the shepherd takes care of them. Therefore, I should do the same.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. God lets us rest. He is not a slave driver, expecting us to work our entire day away in order to please Him. He calls us into times of rest, not days of extreme busyness. If I am going through my day with no time to stop and rest, I need to stop and reorganize my priorities.
He renews my strength. Not only does God let us rest, but He gives us new strength when we need it and ask for it. There have been days where I felt like I couldn’t drag myself out of bed, but once I asked God for strength, I managed to get moving and within ten minutes I was moving at a normal speed (I am only a morning person if morning starts after the sun is up).
He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. God did not just drop us into this world to fend for ourselves. He will guide us if we ask for His help – that’s the key. We have to acknowledge that we need His help, and seek His guidance in our decisions. The path He guides us down will bring honor to His name. If we are going down a path that dishonors God, it is not one He is guiding us down.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect me and comfort me. Most people will try to be there for us when we are going through a hard time. Some people will stick through for just a short time after the worst seems to be over (think: the week after a funeral, the first month after a job loss) but then go back to their regular lives and not think of our struggles very often. A small number of people will stick through the entire struggle with us (our spouse, parent, closest friend, etc). But God is there all of the time…everywhere we are. He never gets tired of hearing about our hurts, our problems, our struggles. For this reason, we should not be afraid. We have a God who will never leave us.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Never mind the “glass half empty or half full” concept. God overflows our cup with blessings. We need to acknowledge the blessings that we have: we know the big ones (our families, friends, church, health, home, etc), but there are also those that are not immediately obvious to most people – the intangible things. We are blessed to be able to learn new things, to see the changing seasons, to have the opportunity to meet new people, to keep up with people through social networks and cell phones (do you realize what smartphone owners can do now with their phones, the same tasks used to require a landline phone to be plugged into a bulky computer in the home?)
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Every day we are on this earth, God is pursuing us with His goodness and unfailing love. Even when we’ve messed up, or just don’t feel like pursuing God…He is still pursuing us. He loves us. I don’t know about other people, but I know I misused the word ‘forever’ a lot in my middle and high school years. Think about the phrase, ‘BFF’. All of those years, I called about seven or eight girls my best friends, and we wrote ‘BFF’ on our notes we passed in school. None of those girls are still my best friends…therefore, ‘forever’ only lasted as long as school did. We all grew up and changed and went in different directions. But God does not change: ‘forever’ in this verse really means forever. We will be with God forever. Our time with God will never end.
That is breathtaking.
