{This post is an excerpt from my devotional ebook Perspective Reset: 28 readings and meditations from the Psalms. The devotional is FREE to all of my newsletter subscribers and I would love for you to download it. Click HERE to subscribe and download the ebook. You can also listen to a recent message on Psalm 23 taught by Pastor Daniel Williams HERE. }
"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. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:1-6
If you’re like me, you’ve probably picked up this journal because you’re in desperate need of a perspective reset. You’re drowning in emotion. You’re finding your attitude places that you don’t like and that may even scare you. And if you are like me, this Psalm speaks straight to that place you desperately want to be in. You want to believe that these truths are for you. You want to be able to say these words with confidence, but so often fear overcomes your faith.
And I think that is why this famous Psalm has always held an ominous undertone for me. As I read, my faith wavers... "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.” (v 4)
Every time I read these words, I feel their weight pressing into my soul. And I hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit asking me, “Will you truly fear no evil? Will you allow My rod and staff to comfort you? Will believe, even in the darkest moments, that the shining joys of the rest of this Psalm are for you?”
For this Psalm to ring deeply true in our hearts we have to first humble ourselves to desire the guiding and tending hand of the Shepherd in our lives, and then we have to believe that He is enough.
And my faith wavers so easily... Will He really restore my soul? Will the pastures actually be green and the waters really be still? Will goodness and mercy truly follow me all the days of my life?
And my faith wavers... But I need to remember that these truths about God won’t change, but my perspective on them will. My heart will waver and my faith will shake, but God is unchanging. So I have to choose to preach these truths to my heart, instead of letting my feelings dictate my faith in them. Because God’s Word isn’t a book to be judged and weighed and debated based on our understanding and feelings. It is truth that is intended to penetrate and change our hearts.
So come to today’s text willing to be changed by it. Let it challenge what you feel, because what you feel might not be true. Allow yourself to be humbled and restored in the face of these Words from the Giver of life.
Verses to Meditate On Today: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” Psalm 23:1,3
{Take some time to pray and ask God to help you to intimately believe these truths for yourself. Then read this Psalm aloud. One time. Twenty times. As many times as it takes for the truths to sink deep into your soul. Preach these words to yourself. Claim them as your own. Read them aloud until you can only stop and praise God for His goodness and care and tender shepherding toward you.}
