Psalm 23

THIS WEEK has been good. Really, really good. Something you might not know about me is that every night before I go to sleep, I love to write on my calendar what happened that day. If it was a particularly good day, I'll draw a little smiley face so I can remember. I have been blessed to have some great things to write down this week: walking around the Avenues Mall and eating chicken nuggets with my family, going out to get ice cream, watching some really interesting movies, shopping for things for me to use in my room at college in three weeks, and going to Small Group with my friends.

At Small Group we've been going through a book called "A Praying Life," which is helpful in developing the right attitudes and practices regarding effective prayer. This week a major theme in our reading was Psalm 23. When I read it, I realized that it represented my life really well. It's about the way God blesses us, guides us, and stands with us in all situations. Very encouraging. Plus, it's only 6 verses so it's not very hard to memorize and keep with you.

v.1 "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." This is also translated "I shall not be in want." At Small Group we discussed the way sheep depend on their shepherd. Without him, they can't survive. If they fall over, they need him to pick them up or they just lay there and die. He needs to be there to protect them from danger and give them what they need.

I fear that we all, at one time or another, have too much pride, too much faith in ourselves, to accept that we're like sheep. It takes a lot of humility to admit that we need God just as much as sheep need their shepherd, even just to stay alive. Because He is with us, our souls live forever. Because He provides for us, we will not "be in want," or lack the things we need. Jesus tells us that He is our Shepherd in John 10:11, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

v.2 "He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." What kind of shepherd would He be if He didn't take good care of us? Sheep couldn't survive in fields without good grass and next to rivers that come up and wash them away. I know it's hard to see where the green pastures and still waters are in a crazy world like this.

But I don't think they represent happy times in life, or even just safety. I think they represent the peace He gives us regardless of our circumstances. That's why a Christian in the Middle East who's waiting in prison for a retrial can remember this psalm and rejoice that God keeps His promises. He keeps us safe within His will, where He leads us, no matter whether life is easy or hard. The green pastures are the unfaltering presence of a God who is greater than our circumstances and stronger than our adversaries.

v.3 "He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." We've all been in a place where we feel torn up and broken, whether by our own sin or by the results of someone else's. God promises that those moments aren't where things end for us. He looks past our injuries, mistakes, and fears and tells us the story from Luke 15, of the father who takes back his son after he's made every mistake possible. He keeps His promise to guide us and take care of us "for His name's sake," or 'to show that He is faithful.'

v.4 "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." When I read this I understood for the first time something I didn't notice about that valley. I don't know whether this is obvious to everybody else, but if the valley is in "the shadow of death," it is beside the mountain of death. Before, whenever I thought of that valley, I would imagine a dreary, dangerous, overcast place that's no fun to walk in. But now I see that it's in the shadow of an enormous mountain called Death! That valley is where we live. It's a world where death and all kinds of evil are always hanging over our heads.

BUT we will fear no evil, for He is with us. Think about it. In every scary situation you've been in, doesn't it feel better when you're not going through it alone? And isn't it so comforting to have somebody you trust there with you? Faith moves mountains, and God's love is as strong as death. We won't be in this valley forever, but we will be with God forever.

v.5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over." Wow. I'm glad we have a God who is never disturbed by any threat. We can look at any struggle and say, as in Romans 8:37, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

To "anoint" is a method of washing, a symbol of holiness, and a preparation for a job. Isn't it amazing that God would call us, of all people, holy, and prepare us to be part of the great victory He is winning over death?

Finally, v.6 "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." That's the God we worship. The God of goodness overflowing. The God of abundant, undeserved mercy. He really loves to bless us, so we should delight in honoring Him. I realize that life is great because of the goodness and mercy He is filling it with. I see my life in this psalm because God fulfills His promises. On awesome weeks like this, I really notice it. But when life does get hard, it's even more wonderful to see that His promises are still true.

He is the God of forever. The God of life unaffected by death. When it comes down to it, God is all we have and all we need. A million years after the end of time, He will be the only thing that has lasted, and the only thing we depend on. We surely will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.