Freedom House Church and Healing Centre

Reflections on Psalm 23

 

Praise God for His faithfulness!  Praise God for His Word!  I have received much encouragement and comfort from Psalm 23 this past week.  In this blog and the next, I would like to share with you my reflections on this Psalm.

 

Psalm 23

 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

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.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Isaiah 40:11 is a beautiful picture of Jesus feeding, tending, caring and providing for His church of which I am a part.  Jesus is my good shepherd who saved me and gave me abundant life!  He gave His life for me!  He knows me and I know Him.  I am one of His sheep and I hear His voice.  He knows me and I follow Him.  He has given me eternal life, I will never perish and no one will snatch me out of His hand!  These truths from John 10:7-30 bring me not only comfort but increased love for Jesus and desire to follow Him.  As I love, serve and follow Jesus, I lack nothing as all I need is in Jesus.  He is more than enough!

 

He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm,

And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. (Isa 40:11 NKJV)

 

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19 NASB)   

 

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

 What a beautiful picture of rest in Jesus!  Ezekiel 34:14 is another beautiful picture of Jesus’s promise to give me rest in Him.  As I come humbly to Him and give Him all of my burdens, He is faithful to take them and give me rest in Him.  Even amidst the challenges and trials of living in this world, the promise that God is with me brings great peace and joy.  I am able to continue to have peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, focus on Him and be about His business each day.

 

I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel.

There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. (Eze 34:14 NASB)

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Mt 11:28-30 NLT)

 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. 

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. (Isa 43:2 NKJV)

 

He restores my soul

 Jesus, my Shepherd, has provided everything I need!  As I rest in Him, He restores my soul.  As I reflected on this I was reminded again of how David speaks to His soul, talks to God about the condition of His soul or shares about his soul.  Remember our soul is our mind, will and emotions.  Years back I wrote out these scriptures and often declare them and turn them into a prayer.  I have also had many opportunities to share these scriptures with others and encourage them to do the same.  I encourage you now to do the same and I pray they will encourage, strengthen and bring restoration to your soul. 

(Ps 16:2; Ps 34:2; Ps 35:9; Ps 42; Ps 57:1, 4, 6; Ps 62:1, 5; Ps 63:1, 5, 8; Ps 84:2; Ps 88:3; Ps 94:17-19; Ps 103:1-2; 22; Ps 104:1; Ps 116:8-9; Ps 119:20, 28, 167; Ps 131:2; Ps 139:14; Ps 141:8; Ps 142:4, 7; Ps 143:6, 8)

 

He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Each day as I choose to follow my Shepherd, Jesus, He guides me along right paths.  Following Him and being obedient to His path of righteousness, His Word, brings honor to His name.  I desire to bring honor to Jesus, my Shepherd, Savior, Lord and King!  Do you?

 Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me.  Make your way plain for me to follow. (Ps 5:8 NLT)

You are my rock and my fortress.  For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. (Ps 31:3 NLT)

 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me;

 While meditating on this truth, I wrote a prayer.

 

Jesus, You are with me in the valleys.  You are with me on the mountain tops.  You are with me in and through everything.  All things are under Your control!  Jesus, because You are in this situation with me, I shall not fear!  I believe in Your promise in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good to those who love You, to those who are the called according to Your purpose.  Amen.

 

I encourage you read and meditate on Psalm 3 and Psalm 27:1 and perhaps write your own prayer.  Remember the scriptures exhort us to fear God; stand in awe of Him, revere Him.  In Exodus 1:15-22 we see that the midwives feared God more than they were afraid of disobeying Pharoah and God blessed their obedience by multiplying and growing the children of Israel.

 

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

The New Living Translation reads, Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me.

 My Shepherd’s rod is His Word a symbol of His strength, power and authority in every situation.  He uses His Word (rod) to protect and correct and discipline me.  He uses His Word to comfort, strengthen and encourage me.  I encourage you to read 2 Timothy 3:16-17 in many different versions!

 My Shepherd’s staff is used to draw me to Himself and keep me in fellowship with Him and others in the flock (the body of Christ).  He uses His staff to guide me and lead me and keep me free from trouble.  His staff represents His intimacy, care, belonging, comfort, tenderness and compassion towards me.

 

I hope and pray that you have been encouraged, comforted and strengthened by these reflections on Psalm 23.  As you spend time with Jesus, meditating on His Word, I pray that you will know Him more and get written on your heart that the Lord Jesus is your shepherd, you shall not want.

 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 2:7 NKJV)