The 23rd Psalms is a very familiar chapter to those of us who have been Christians for awhile. Most of us can recite it. The Lord impressed on me recently to take time to meditate on it afresh and anew, letting it sink deeply into my spirit man. This is what I found as I obeyed His tender promptings:
The Lord is my Shepherd;
A shepherd tends, feeds, guards, protects, nourishes, and cares for his sheep. He loves the sheep and develops a close, intimate relationship with them. He understands the needs of the sheep and is proactive in meeting those needs.
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” John 10:14
I shall not want,
“Want” means to lack something desirable or essential; a desire to possess or do something; to long for; to crave something. To not want for anything is to lack nothing. The Lord is telling us that because He is our Shepherd, we will lack nothing as He knows what we need before we call out to Him and He supplies our needs as we bring them to Him in prayer.
Isaiah 65:24 “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters,
To make is to form something by putting parts together or combining substances; construct, create. to cause something to exist or come about;
And also to compel someone to do something;
Both of these definitions apply in our text. The Lord created us and He compels us to lie down in green pastures; and He leads (gently guides and directs) us beside the still waters. I have always been drawn to photographs of sheep. They are pictured in this setting many times; lying on green grass near crystal clear water. At peace and still, knowing that their shepherd is watching over them. It is a magnificent analogy of what our Good Shepherd does for us. It is the desire of His heart to be our All in All, our Everything. I believe we grieve His heart when we fret and worry and look other places and TO others for our sustenance. Sustenance is the maintaining of someone or something in life or existence. We were created in the likeness of God, formed in His image, so that He could have fellowship with us. We are to be in relationship with Him. He loves us with an Agape love which is the highest form of love. It defines God’s immeasurable, incomparable love for humanity. 1st Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter. It describes Agape love and is an excellent measurement by which we can determine if we are indeed walking in the God kind of love.
He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake;
Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. We live in a fallen world and the Lord knew our souls would need to be restored. Ephesians 5:26 says “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word;” speaking of the church. As we enter into His presence in prayer and reading the Word, He is restoring our souls. There is an old chorus that goes like this, “I’ve been with Jesus, and I’m so happy, I can feel Him in my soul, With love He sought me, with blood He bought me, I’ve been with Jesus and I’m whole.” He longs to restore us, washing the dirt and grime of the world away, pulling us to Himself, as a Shepherd tenderly caring for His sheep.
This is done for His name’s sake. We are to represent Him and His goodness and mercy in the earth. Our cry must be as it is in Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” There are many things that we are bombarded with on a daily basis. Our emotions are often on a roller coaster of highs and lows. We can easily get caught up in one thing or another and become unsettled in our spirits. We need to recognize this in ourselves and carve out some time to be with the Lord. As we allow Him to lead and guide us, we will come to a place in our walk with Him where we are at rest, regardless of the circumstances around us. The key is to let Him do the leading.
I can see that this needs to be a two part post. There is so much more and I don’t want to rush through it.
God is good. All the time. He is our Shepherd and in Him is all we need. Ever. Let us draw nigh to Him in humble adoration. Let us bask in His presence, drinking deeply of the Fountain of Living Water. We will bring much joy to His heart as we allow Him to lead us. Here is another chorus I love:
In shady green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.
To be continued. . . . . . .watch for the second part of this blog post.
Blessings!
afirebynight 