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 the 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. Psalm 23: 1-6, NKJV.
Dear God and Heavenly Shepherd, please lead us in the varied paths of life, and grant that at every stage of life we may bring You glory. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Today we will continue with the thought we began yesterday – that of having Jesus in our lives – forever. We will divide this psalm into different stages of life, and observe how Jesus is always with us.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures[.]” Let us envision this as the early days of our life, when all our needs are taken care of by our Heavenly Parent. As infants, we rest in peace in the care of earthly parents. We do not worry about food, or clothing, or a roof over our heads. The peacefulness of our infancy can be compared to “green pastures,” of complete trust.
“He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul[.]” Now we find ourselves in childhood. Most childhoods are a transition from “green pastures” to “still waters.” The peacefulness of infancy usually flows over into our childhood. And then we come to adolescence where the challenges begin. I once heard Pastor Charles Bradford say that this is the period of child rearing when most parents “become silent.” I would like to add to that, it is also the period when they pass more time on their knees, asking God to “restore” their children. And the God of love who listens with great attentiveness to the the prayers of parents, “restores” our soul.
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.” Now we come to the period in our lives when adversity becomes a part of our existence. Adversity takes many shapes and forms. The psalmist uses the ultimate form – death, to demonstrate that the love of God will reach us even in the “pit!” We cannot go anywhere where the love and protection of God will not reach us! Not life, not death, not anything in all creation, can separate us from Him and His love (Romans 8: 38)! The rod, which can also be referred to as a staff – as well as a scepter – is symbolic of Christ as Ruler, not only in our lives, but also over the circumstances that may affect our lives; at which time it becomes our protection.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” But the weeping caused by adversity falls short, when compared to the quantity and quality of the blessings God has in store for us. Sometimes our suffering is made public, and sometimes we suffer in silence. But when God blesses, He does it for all to see, even our enemies! These blessings are so abundant there is not enough room to receive them, so they begin to “run over!” Hallelujah!
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Because Jesus’ intention, upon having an encounter with us, is to stay with us, His goodness and mercy will never depart from us. Even though Job endured one of the darkest nights of the soul, he came to the end of days at a good old age, and was restored in excess of His first fortune. “You [just] can’t beat God’s giving, no matter how you try,” can you? As long as He is in our lives, we will be “blessed by His Presence!“