The 23rd Psalm

Greetings!

This morning as I was reading the latest reports out of Washington the Lord laid heavy on me the 23rd Psalm.  I thought to myself, I just can't imagine why God would put this on my mind while reading the reports of impending doom for our country if the politicians in Washington do not get their act together and stop bickering like children.  So, lets take a look at the Psalm and see where it leads us.

Psalm 23

 ¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
 ³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
 ⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
 ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
 ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Well the very first verse tell us that the Lord is our Shepherd, I shall not want.  When I was a kid I misunderstand the part, "I shall not want".  I thought it was saying I shall not want the Lord as my Shepherd.  What can I say, I was pretty young then, LOL.  Actually what this means is we shall not want for anything because the Lord provides for our needs.

So many of us think our wants are our needs but truth be told they are not.  Your basic needs will always be provided by the Lord.  You can survive some very rough times.  And it looks like those very rough times might be heading our way very soon with the financial problems of the United States and the "good ole boys" of Washington, DC behaving like little boys.

Verse 2 says, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside still waters.  When I read that verse it tells me that the Lord is showing the writer a peaceful and comfortable life.  After all, lying in green pastures or walking beside still waters is a calming thing.  Can you not picture yourself just taking a nap out in a field of grass on a warm sunny day?  Doesn't that sound pretty nice?  Or how about sitting by a lake that is calm?  Sounds pretty peaceful to me.

Verse 3, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Wow!  Let's take the first part of that, He restoreth my soul.  He forgives me and brings my soul back to life.  We must understand that we need forgiveness of our sins and need to repent of those sins or we will be dead to God and condemned to an eternity in Hell.  Here the writer is saying, He forgives me, I am alive again!! 

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  When we are Christians and are forgiven the Lord will lead us to be righteous and we do it for the name of Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!

Verse 4, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for though art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  I love this verse, but I think there is some controversy over its true meaning.  The valley of the shadow of death seems to be associated with many as dying.  But I don't believe so.  I have a strong feeling being laid on me that we are not talking of the dying of the body here.  We are talking about the valley of the shadow of death being sin, the death of the spirit through sin.  But because we are forgiven, Jesus will remain with us and comfort us and help us get through that valley of sin and temptation.  We do not have to be afraid of it because the Lord is always with us.

Verse 5,  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.  I believe I can face my enemies and it will not matter because I am anointed by the Lord, I am a child of the King and my cup runneth over with His love and blessings.

Verse 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.  In this two part verse I believe goodness and mercy from the Lord will be with me all the days of my earthly life, but then I will live with the Lord in heaven for all eternity.

To me this is more a Psalm of faith rather than of death of this body.  It is telling us when we ask for forgiveness of our sins, we will be forgiven.  And even though there will be many trials, tribulations and temptations we can get through them when we follow the Lord and our reward will be a life eternal in heaven with our Lord and Savior.

Now, you are probably wondering what this has to do with the news coming out of Washington, DC.  I believe God is showing us that even if this fiasco happens and the budget is not resolved, and things go from bad to really bad we can get through this valley if we lean on Jesus and trust in Him to lead us through it.  God did not promise us a perfect life here on earth free of trials and tribulations.  But He did promise to never leave us nor forsake us if we call upon Him.  He can and He will get us through any mess we humans can create here on earth.  And if we are righteous and faithful to Him we will dwell with Him forever in the house of the Lord.  Praise the Lord for showing me this message today.  What wonderful peace it has given me.  Thank you Jesus!!

Until next time,,,,,,Blessings!