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“The Lord is My Shepherd”
Thoughts on Psalm 23:4 Day 4 “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Have you a darkest valley that you are walking through—fire one moment, ice the next? Is your valley personal illness or that of a loved one? Suffering of a beloved friend? Relative? Depression? Loneliness? Approaching death? Children who are lost, wandering in search of meaning? Worry over the evil happening worldwide? David had such a time. He was pursued by King Saul and by his own son, Absalom, both with the goal of killing him. David had to constantly run, hide in caves, travel from town to town, and run again as he was pursued. His darkest valley is revealed in Psalm 13:1-4 when he felt alone and abandoned by God: “ O Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!" Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.” How can David then say, probably toward the end of his reign, “I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”? HOW? David was now able to look back on his life and recognize the obvious hand God had on him. He had rescued David by His rod of authority and by the crook of His staff as He plucked David from the hands of his enemies, time and time again. Yes, David now recognized that the hope he displayed at the end of Psalm 13:5-6 was true: "But I trust in Your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me.” Though traveling through his darkest valley, David knew in his heart that he could trust God. You have the same Good Shepherd, watching over every moment of your life, using His rod and staff for your welfare if you believe: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 We are not promised a life free of dark valleys; but we are promised that if we believe, those dark times will result in good. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4 Verses: Psalm 3:1-6 (Notice how, when, and why David sleeps!) “O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; You are my glory, the One who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy mountain. I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.” PRAYER: Dear Father, thank you that You are our Father and that even when we cannot feel Your presence while in our darkest valleys, You are there, leading us out of that darkness with Your rod and staff into Your glorious light. Let us join with David and sing, “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me.” Disclaimer: I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since. How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn't know who He is?! These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ and grow in your heart relationship with Him. However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other "teachers," with God's Holy Word. Therein lies the source of all truth! Your daughter looks beautiful! She has spent days with you and/or her friends shopping for that perfect gown. “Oooo, is it a little tight here? Does it pooch out there?” she asks, studying herself in front of a full-length mirror. She twists around, trying to see how the back fits and twirls to see if the skirt flows, a must when dancing! Finally, after a full day of shopping, she picks just the right gown. You are pleased, because it is modest, too!
Your son has rented a tux, and as he stretches his neck, shifting his head from side to side, you can tell he is uncomfortable with that tie! You briefly dwell on the fact that the years have passed far too swiftly; in place of your little boy now stands a very handsome young man! The proof? He was even willing to take a shower! At last “the day comes.” Your daughter’s make up is just so, and every curl of her up-do is exactly in place. Your son’s hair is combed for a change, and the few hairs above his lip have been shaved. You’ve guessed it. It’s prom night, and much to your offspring’s embarrassment, you’ve snapped, oh, at least a hundred pictures! As your child nears the door, readying to leave, you recognize you’ve taught him or her all you could to live life well—to be honest, loyal, to have integrity—to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind… and to ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” Matthew 22: 37-38 So you look your child carefully in the eye and admonishingly say,“Be good” or “make good choices.” Why? Your son's or daughter’s behavior not only will affect all their future days, but will either honor or dishonor you as a parent. If this is true for us as parents, how much more so is this true in regard to our heavenly Father, who is our parent? For years He has taught us through church sermons, radio broadcasts, and His Holy Word, the Bible. So each day when we get up, let's picture Him looking at us with love in His eyes saying, “Be good! Make choices that will honor Me because they are in obedience to my commandments and according to My good and perfect will for your life. Now head out into your day, and because you love Me, follow Me on paths of righteousness.” How do I do this? I hear God’s voice in my heart: “Have you taken into the depths of your soul My words in Scripture? Do you truly know who I am as well as what I have been and continue doing for you? Do you fully and completely trust me and the design I have for your life? Do you live, knowing that when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, My Spirit came into you and changed your nature so that your old desire for sin would recede and be replaced with a desire for righteous living? “Continue, child, to read my Word, for it is active, alive, and life-changing! It will mold your heart into a masterpiece of beauty with a longing to follow Me. Obedience will become a natural act of love, and honoring my name by your good choices a goal. So let your heart grow close to me and let the Holy Spirit give you the strength you need to live this way.” I open my Bible, and God illuminates the path before me...the path of righteousness that will honor Him because I have a deep, abiding love for His Son and desire to walk in obedience to His Word. In following my Good Shepherd on this path, my hope is that others will see who it is leading me—my indescribably perfect, compassionate, merciful, and loving Lord and Savior, Jesus—and that they will join the line I am in...a line of redeemed sheep following their Savior on paths of righteousness. Verses: Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” NLT Proverbs 4:18 “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.” Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” NLT Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” NLT 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” NLT PRAYER: “Lord, help me to do an honest heart and soul check regarding my relationship with You!
Thank You, Father, for helping me examine myself. I sincerely ask you to keep working in me daily, changing me to become ever more like You. Help me to follow You as you lead me on paths of righteousness so that I might honor Your name and point others to the way of salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Disclaimer: I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since. How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn't know who He is? These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ and grow in your heart relationship with Him. However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other 'teachers," with God's Holy Word. Therein lies the source of all truth! "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul." For years I had locked in my mind a version of Psalm 23 with the words in verse 2a being, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” I remember, then, being startled when I first read another version which read, “He lets me lie down in green pastures.” What a difference! In my way of thinking, God determines I need a time of rest in the first, and I ask and am allowed permission to take a rest in the second! In looking up the Hebrew definition of the word make or let in this Psalm, it appears to me that make is the more accurate (see bottom notation). I know that this is the word that best describes me! In my case, I have never asked God, “May I have a period of rest now? I’m really tired.” No, I tend to be more like Martha than Mary—doing, doing, doing, not recognizing that I should be resting at my Savior’s feet! In fact, one of my favorite sayings has been, “It’s better to wear out than rust out!" So, in my case, God has to hit me with a sledge hammer and say, “STOP! You need rest to refresh your spirit, your emotions, and your physical being! Take time to do nothing but focus on Me—Your Lord and Shepherd! I need to restore your heart and soul!” So God clobbers me a good one—maybe it was that triple bypass surgery!—takes my hand, and pulls me to a lush, green pasture near a quiet stream. I picture myself lying in the rich grasses of that pasture during the day, gazing at the LORD’s creation—the sky, the trees, the plains, the sea, the mountains, whatever lies before me—each shouting His name! I listen to the gently, babbling brook singing, “He loves you, He loves you, He loves you!” I then watch as the sun sets, creating a masterpiece of brilliant rainbow colors in cirrus clouds; then in the deepest, darkness of night, I watch a multitude of shooting stars skid across the background of God’s vast universe. Once more, in the new morning, I sit and open my Bible; I drink in God’s words, and there I find peace and rest. Jesus, my good Shepherd, restores my body, heart, mind, and spirit. He gives me strength to walk forth, fully restored, and I thank Him for making me lie down. 1. https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blb/2012/04/11/biblical-hebrew-applied-psalm-23-part-2/ “Thus, a more literal translation of the first part of this verse would be, “He continually causes me to lie down in green pastures,” with the implication being that at times I do not have the sense to know when it is best to lie down and rest in order to be renewed and refreshed.” Verses: Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 62:1 “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.” Psalm 23:1-2 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” PRAYER: Father, thank you for knowing me intimately. You know when I need to work and when I need to rest. When I ignore the signs my body gives me and/or become unaware of that needed rest, You, as my perfect Shepherd, create circumstances that make me lie down in green pastures near streams of quiet waters. Perhaps You speak to me in a quiet whisper, but at other times, You can only get my attention with crashing thunder. Father, I open my heart to you saying, “I am Your sheep! Do whatever is necessary to guide me to your verdant pastures and quiet streams when I need them; then I may walk, fully restored, prayerfully fulfilling Your plan for my life and blessing the lives of others, all while declaring your majesty and glory. Disclaimer: I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since. How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn't know who He is? These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ and grow in your heart relationship with Him. However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other 'teachers," with God's Holy Word. Therein lies the source of all truth!  A hungry baby cries; he needs to be fed. His loving mother knows this and rushes to his side, picks him up, and soothes him as she offers him her life-sustaining milk. This baby wants for nothing, for he has a caring, faithful, and compassionate mother. We have it even better! Our good shepherd is perfect! He is loving, caring, faithful, kind, compassionate, and because He is all-knowing, He gives us everything we need so we will never be in want.
When I think of wants in terms of our culture, I think of worldly desires--of Christmas lists: dolls, Legos, name-brand clothes, computers, TVs, cars. But this is not the Hebrew meaning of want, which refers to something that is lacking; a need. The baby in the above paragraph was not wanting in our culture’s terms; he was wanting sustenance. “I shall not be in want—I shall not lack.” This is the meaning in David’s psalm. When our Lord examines our hearts, He knows exactly what we want. Have you ever doubted this? Perhaps you turn to issues such as hatred, hunger, illness, and loss. Rather than these, you desire peace, love, and equality extended to everyone. You desire agape love and life! God knows these are things we lack in this world. For in perfection God created the heavens and earth and all things in and on it, including mankind. Not desiring robots or forced faith, however, He designed man with free will—choose to love and obey Him or rebel. When man did just that, sin entered the world and everything became subject to decay and death. To hope and pray for a perfect world before the new heavens and earth is unrealistic, for we will live in this fallen state until then. Our perfect God understands all this; in fact, He knew what our situation would be even before creation! He knew our need for light and life, for joy, hope, and love! That is why in His caring, selfless act of perfect love, God sent His only Son to us to fulfill our every want! The very things we long for, everything we need for sustenance to survive our time in this physical world until we reach our heavenly home, is given to us when we place our faith in Jesus. With Jesus, we find hope, direction, and peace. We are given a brilliant future with everlasting lives where nothing decays and where there be no tears, but only light—where a joy and love we cannot possibly imagine prevail! Jesus answers all our wants and fills the void of everything we lack. The chorus of one of our greatest hymns, “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” composed by William M. Runyan, Thomas O Chisholm, and Eric Allyn Schrotenboer, states this very clearly: "Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Morning by morning, new mercies I see All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me." Verses: Philippians 4:19 “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Psalm 34:10 “Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.” Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” PRAYER: Lord, when I want things, earthly things, let me remember they truly are not important in the scheme of life! And when I want things not of this earth, things I cannot possibly control, such as healing for my son’s sweet wife, my friends with cancer and MS, those who are hurting because of other illnesses, loss, and those suffering for their faith, let me turn my focus on you, remembering that You are in control. Of course I keep in prayer all these things, but I must constantly remember that You see in full, while I only in part. I do believe that, as Your Word states, I do believe that, as Your Word states, when we love You, You will use all in our lives for good, according to Your loving purpose for us. Thank you, Father, for being all-knowing, and thank you for answering my every want with Jesus. Thank you, Father, for being all-knowing, and thank you for answering my every want with Jesus. Disclaimer: I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since. How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn't know who He is? These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ and grow in your heart relationship with Him. However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other 'teachers," with God's Holy Word. Therein lies the source of all truth!  “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." Have you a darkest valley that you are walking through—fire one moment, ice the next? Is your valley personal illness or that of a loved one? Suffering of a beloved friend? Relative? Depression? Loneliness? Approaching death? Children who are lost, wandering in search of meaning? Worry over the evil happening worldwide? David had such a time. He was pursued by King Saul and by his own son, Absalom, both with the goal of killing him. David had to constantly run, hide in caves, travel from town to town, and run again as he was pursued. His darkest valley is revealed in Psalm 13:1-4 when he felt alone and abandoned by God: “ O Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!" Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.” How can David then say, probably toward the end of his reign, “I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”? HOW? David was now able to look back on his life and recognize the obvious hand God had on him. He had rescued David by His rod of authority and by the crook of His staff as He plucked David from the hands of his enemies, time and time again. Yes, David now recognized that the hope he displayed at the end of Psalm 13 was true: “But I trust in Your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me.” Though traveling through his darkest valley, David knew in his heart that he could trust God. You have the same Good Shepherd, watching over every moment of your life, using His rod and staff for your welfare if you believe: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 We are not promised a life free of dark valleys, but we are promised that if we believe, those dark times will result in good. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4 VERSES: Psalm 3:1-6 (Notice when, how, and why David slept!) "O Lord, I have so many enemies; So many are against me. So many are saying, “God will never rescue him! But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; You are my glory, the One who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy mountain. I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side." PRAYER: Dear Father, thank you that You are our Father and that even when we cannot feel Your presence while in our darkest valleys, You are there, leading us out of that darkness with Your rod and staff into Your glorious light. Let us join with David and sing, “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me.” Disclaimer: I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since. How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn't know who He is?! These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ and grow in your heart relationship with Him. However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other "teachers," with God's Holy Word. Therein lies the source of all truth! |
Author Candice Mary Thomas writes about loving God and loving people! Coming to Christ at age 32 and now in her 70's, Candice knows what a difference it makes living with or without Christ as one's personal Savior. Archives
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