At times I catch myself breezing through a memorized passage in the Bible without thinking about the message. Today though, I stopped and made myself take Psalm 23 verse by verse, and put it into my own words. I challenge you to do the same. The message is always universal, yet always personal. I have put my thoughts in italics below each verse.
Psalm 23: 1 "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."
He is MY personal shepherd, which means He will not lead my like He will lead others. This also means that I have to choose to follow Him and let Him lead, thus making Him "Lord". Because He is The Shepherd above all shepherds, He will never lead me astray. I will never lack for the things that I need. He is responsible in His care of me.
Psalm 23:2 "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters."
He being the Prince of Peace, allows me to experience His perfect peace. Not only does He lead me to a place to be filled and protected, but He leads me to the BEST place- GREEN pastures. I can only think of the saying about "greener on the other side", knowing His are always the greenest. It is there that He knows that I must rest. It is there where the waters are still.
Psalm 23:3 "He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, for His name's sake."
"His name's sake" is the key to understanding this passage. Why does He do these things for me? He must. In order to remain true to His perfect character and to His word, He will never fail me. This relieves me because I know me. I am often very stubborn, independent, and prone to mess up my life. Yet, because "HE is faithful I am not consumed." He leads me in the way of holiness, and KEEPS me in the way of holiness. He will not allow me to stay the "Lost Sheep" for long.
Psalm 23:4 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
Not all of my path is peaceful. Because of my sinfulness, and the sinfulness of others I will face evil, but I will NEVER face it alone. In my darkest moment, He is there, ready to defend me. He even has given up His life for me long ago in the darkest valley that would have taken my spiritual life had He not given His. "There is no valley so deep that the love of God is not found or sensed"- paraphrased CORRIE TEN BOOM
Psalm 23:5 "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over."
When those who do not know God mock me or my God when I face trials, my Shepherd is the one who lifts me up. He uses the "oil" of His pleasure to honor me. He fills my "cup" of circumstance to the brim, and it runs over into contentment, joy, and peace beyond what I could find in the world around me.
Psalm 23:6 "Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever."
My Shepherd has never promised me a "happily ever after" in this world. Nor has He promised that life would be worry free. He promised that in whatever situation, pleasant or painful, His goodness and His mercy will be there with me from my childhood till my "golden" years. When those golden years have faded there is the promise to live in His house forever, happily ever after.
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