My Dear Precious Friends,
I pray you are staying calm in the midst of the storms we are walking through. I love praying scripture and there is no great power than praying scripture. With times like these what are we as Christians to do? This is our opportunity to walk by faith and trust and live the truth that God is in control and WOW, that is our great comfort.
Psalm 23 is one of those chapters we turn to when we need comfort and truth.
The Lord is my shepherd.
What does this mean?
In order to have the Lord as our shepherd, we must give ourselves wholly to him.
What he does
He leads us – his leadership is perfect, flawless, never failing, always best.
The Lord guides us – with correction, with more information, with greater revelation and with insight and discernment.
He provides all our needs – We all have physical needs like food, shelter and clothing. As we follow Jesus, he promises that these needs will be supplied. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:25, 33 (ESV)
We also have emotional needs like love, acceptance and understanding. No one is better equipped and more willing to meet those needs than Jesus. He demonstrated that love through his life. He accepted anyone as they were and showed keen insight into their lives. His death for the sin of mankind was the ultimate expression of love.
He provides all our needs because he created us. Therefore, he knows us thoroughly. He knows what we need.
What we must do
Trust him. No matter what is happening, we must continue to trust. To trust him means he doesn’t have to prove anything.
Follow his lead. When we are present with him we can count on him. We follow his lead through prayer, worship, Bible reading and fellowship with other followers. When we are following, he will do active work in our lives.
Live in righteousness. This is where he leads us. We must follow.
Live fearlessly.
Even 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. Psalm 23:4
Living fearlessly is powerful evidence that we trust God. Of course, we can only live fearlessly in the presence of something that inspires fear!
Living fearlessly means we are extra sensitive to the rod and staff of the shepherd. He uses these tools to remind us of his presence, to correct us and keep us on a safe path. So they bring comfort.
Feast triumphantly.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Psalm 23:5
Now the image changes. When we have a good shepherd it means we enjoy special blessing in the face of opposition.
Allow God’s anointing on your life. He desires to anoint you with the Holy Spirit. Anointing also implies a commission to a special task. It is a public acknowledgement of God’s favor. This anointing is to be respected by all God’s people.
Embrace your heritage. The goodness of God is with you all the time. He gives you his mercy or steadfast love. We have the blessing of the eternal presence of God. These things do not fail.
Lets all read the psalm slowly and thank our good shepherd for all he has done for us... Lets share these words of encouragement with someone else...
AMEN!!
