Psalm 23A psalm of David.The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides 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 love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Some of my very earliest memories are of going to church. I remember as a tiny girl of 3 years I learned Psalms 23 by memory. I even remember getting a Hershy's bar for doing so...even better huh?
GOD has used this passage over and over again in my life. Many a night as I lay restless and unable to fall asleep, these words often come to my mind. Have you heard the secret of falling asleep faster? If you start going through those bible verses you know, before long you will drift off to a sound sleep. I have heard that Satan would rather have our thoughts wandering into the wee hours and causing havoc in our minds than bring sleep and rest..so if you start quoting scripture, he of course DOES Not like that at all and allows you to fall asleep instead. Cool huh?
I just love thinking of my Savior as a Shepherd. A loving, ever constant, proding Savior that gently uses His rod to guide me back to where I should be. He leads me into times in my life of Greener pastures. Oh how I relish in those times. He often quiets my soul when dissapointments in others, my own sins and life seem to be screaming for my attention. He restores me to Himself..even carrying me often in His strong arms of protection. I feel lately I have been carried a lot.
And in the Valley's of my life..well do the last 3 years count? There has been some awful shadows lurking and nearly overtaking me many times. Can I firmly believe and NOT fear the evil all around me? He tells me YES...I see it all..let me handle that, you go on now. His rod and staff provide me comfort? How can that be? yet it's often in being Thankful for what I am going through, that I can begin to take focus off of me and put it where it should be, on others and on HIM!
As the Prodigal Son's Father prepared a table for his return, I can HOPE in the great banquet Feast that HE tells me awaits me someday, it just seems so far off at times. Oh what a glorious feast it will be though. So what does "Even in the midst of my enemies" mean? hmmmm
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides 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 love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Some of my very earliest memories are of going to church. I remember as a tiny girl of 3 years I learned Psalms 23 by memory. I even remember getting a Hershy's bar for doing so...even better huh?
GOD has used this passage over and over again in my life. Many a night as I lay restless and unable to fall asleep, these words often come to my mind. Have you heard the secret of falling asleep faster? If you start going through those bible verses you know, before long you will drift off to a sound sleep. I have heard that Satan would rather have our thoughts wandering into the wee hours and causing havoc in our minds than bring sleep and rest..so if you start quoting scripture, he of course DOES Not like that at all and allows you to fall asleep instead. Cool huh?
I just love thinking of my Savior as a Shepherd. A loving, ever constant, proding Savior that gently uses His rod to guide me back to where I should be. He leads me into times in my life of Greener pastures. Oh how I relish in those times. He often quiets my soul when dissapointments in others, my own sins and life seem to be screaming for my attention. He restores me to Himself..even carrying me often in His strong arms of protection. I feel lately I have been carried a lot.
And in the Valley's of my life..well do the last 3 years count? There has been some awful shadows lurking and nearly overtaking me many times. Can I firmly believe and NOT fear the evil all around me? He tells me YES...I see it all..let me handle that, you go on now. His rod and staff provide me comfort? How can that be? yet it's often in being Thankful for what I am going through, that I can begin to take focus off of me and put it where it should be, on others and on HIM!
As the Prodigal Son's Father prepared a table for his return, I can HOPE in the great banquet Feast that HE tells me awaits me someday, it just seems so far off at times. Oh what a glorious feast it will be though. So what does "Even in the midst of my enemies" mean? hmmmm
I know how HE will overflow my life with HIS unfailing love and that's hopefully the outpouring of HIS Glory in me to you. Do you know that LOVE? Will you dwell in HIS home forever and ever?
Blessings sweet ones!
Lorena
4 comments:
Hello! What a beautiful scripture. :) Aren't we blessed? HE is with us thru the mountains and thru the valleys. This reminds me of a song I love. It is from Linda Randle "God On The Mountain" :)
Blessings,
Sandra
Lovely writing, beautiful scripture. We did not learn this until we were adults, church & school didn't teach it. Have a lovely week. TTFN ~ Marydon
I love these verses. They are my favorites. I'm with you...the last few years have been very trying and I am so glad the He has been there for me as well. He says that he will never ever leave us. Isn't that wonderful!?
What a sweet post, Lorena. This is one of the early series of verses I memorized as a child also. I had to giggle when you said that Satan doesn't like us quoting scriptures so he let's us go to sleep ~ It brings to mind something my grandmother once told me ~ I sometimes had trouble sleeping, yet to my dismay I often would fall asleep while saying my bedtime prayers. I was afraid that God would be upset with me that I didn't feel it was important enough to stay awake til we had finished "talking". My grandmother softly told me, "Honey, what better way to fall asleep than to be talking to God and just drift off?" I've never worried about that again & do take comfort in knowing that my last thoughts are often with God.
Big Hugs,
Stephanie
Angelic Accents
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