Psalm 23
English Standard Version (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
for his name's sake.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death,[c]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
forever.
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
forever.
Righteousness, I have heard it
described as “right-living”. I think
that all of us, no matter what our beliefs want to live a worthy life. Some people go to the extreme in the
workforce to make sure they live a noteworthy life. Some people volunteer and work hard to serve
those who are less fortunate. Then there are others who do everything for their
family, they will go to the extreme to take care of their immediate family and extended
family. I am sure there are other things
as well that people do to live a life in the manner that they believe is “right”. As we look at this Psalm today we find that
there is absolutely nothing we can do to be righteous in the sight of God, unless
God is leading us. There are a lot of
things that we can do in life that are right but unless we are doing them in
the name of the Lord and for the Lord, none of them will make us righteous in
His eyes. If He is leading us in one
direction and we are choosing to focus and go towards another direction then we
are likely to run into trouble. As we
live our lives we need to make sure that He is the One leading us and not by
our own will.
When we live a life that is led by
God we can know that the good times are from Him and when we go down the dark
valley with all the shadows and fears of being attacked, we know that He is
there protecting us. He is with us in
the pastures and He is with us in the dark valley where the enemy lurks, ready
to attack us. God is there with His rod to fight off the enemy and He is there
with His staff to pull us up when we slip off the edge of the cliff. Sometimes it seems like we forget, or I do,
that He is protecting me. In those times
we need to remember that we do not need to fear the world or those in this
world because our God is in control.
The promise of hope is that someday
we will sit at the feast with our Lord and Savior. Just think about it, there will be a time
that we will be in the presence of God and sitting at His banquet table. We will not get to that table by doing what
we think is “right” we will only get there if we allow Him to be in control of
our lives, if we allow Him to be Lord of our lives. We won’t get there for doing good to others
unless the very reason that we do them is for Him. We won’t ever be able to dwell in the house
of the Lord FOREVER unless we place our trust in Him and allow Him to comfort
us, strengthen us, and lead us in the path of righteousness.
As you seek Him, know that He is
beside you, leading you, don’t be the sheep that wanders away but rather stay
close to His side.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-KM_zpwfr4
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