Psalm 23:4.5 Safety and a Banquet
“Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping heart; my cup brims with blessings” (MSG).
“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” (NKJV).
I may have to walk through the “valley of the shadow of death,” but I will be fine because my Savior walks beside me. That’s right, the creator of the universe, the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent One, walks beside me. I like to think that He holds my hand as we walk, and those who look on with evil intent in their minds recognize Him and decide to walk away. They have faced Him before and lost. They see His rod and His staff in His hands, and they have no desire to be beaten by those two formidable weapons again. I know that I, by myself, could be overwhelmed by these evil ones, but I also know that I am never alone. He walks beside me. After all, He is omnipresent. When He walks with me, even the shadows of death fade.
Not only does He walk beside me, but He provides a banquet, both spiritual and physical, for my enjoyment and revelation. Every physical and spiritual need I have is satisfied to the full. The love of God flows down over my head, and when I drink from His cup, it never gets empty. Some folks speak of the nectar of the gods, but this is the very nectar of God—the presence of the Holy Spirit. He serves me His love and the blessing of the Holy Spirit, and He expects me to share them with anyone and everyone. And when I do share them, not only is my cup refilled, it is refilled to overflowing.
What a fantastic blessing I have, one that is renewed every morning.
Psalm 23:1-3 Green Pastures, Still Waters
“God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction” (MSG).
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me 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” (NKJV).
We are all familiar with Psalm 23, so much so that we sometimes take its words for granted. Let’s focus a little deeper. I am a sheep who has the Lord of all creation as my shepherd. If I can’t feel safe and safely led, then who in this universe can? The omniscient One, the omnipotent One, the omnipresent One is always watching over me. He knows more than anyone, He is stronger than anyone, and He is always there wherever I am.
He has placed me in a place with plenty of food—spiritual and physical. He doesn’t just sustain me, He provides more than enough so that I can grow into all that He has planned for me. He pours living water from the Holy Spirit into my soul, and He does it by providing a deep calm—a quiet place where I can learn to taste the wonders of His living water.
Each time that He has asked something of me, He provides opportunity for me to rest afterwards and regain my strength. During this time, I get the chance to feel satisfaction in the work I have just completed. Then, during this time of restoration, I can detect His teaching me and stretching me in preparation for my next assignment.
And when I am ready, he leads me out in the right direction for my next assignment. It’s important for me that He leads me out. He shows me the way to proceed, and once He’s done that, He sends me out, allowing me to do His work in whatever way I choose. He is always available for consultation or direction—even when I’m not doing it His way. He knows the best way for me to accomplish what He asks, but He has given me free will to make the choices. Sometimes I have to go through detours to get to the end of my task. But, thankfully, He is patient with me and forgiving of my errors, able to correct them.
Ephesians 2:10 Prepared by God
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (NKJV).
God has given us gifts, spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues. According to Romans 12:6-8, the Holy Spirit gives us gifts of prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, and showing mercy. These are all great gifts, important gifts, but I am not speaking of these gifts. I am speaking of the more ordinary gifts, like the ability to scrub floors, ability to dig a ditch, ability to build a cabinet, ability to change a flat tire, ability to cook meals, and ability to type accurately. These are ordinary gifts or abilities, and there is a myriad of other gifts of this kind that are necessary for the Church to accomplish its tasks on a daily basis. Without these gifts, nothing gets done.
You may have been given several or many of these gifts at one time or another. These can be compared to the “talents” given in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. We are to take whatever gift or talent that God has given us and use it. This is what God expects. If we use it with His guidance, we will be successful and will receive a reward at the “right time.” If we bury it—refuse to use it—we will be reprimanded, and there will be no reward. There is no standing still in the Kingdom of God. We are to use these unique gifts, as unimportant as they may seem, to forward His kingdom. God doesn’t make junk, and God doesn’t give useless gifts, so make use of whatever God gives you. If your reward is not immediate, you can expect it in the future, either here or in heaven.
Psalm 1:1-3 Meditate on the Word(2)
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (RSV).
To know the heart of the Lord, to hear Him when He whispers, to draw His deep meaning from His Word, to know His desire for my life, to learn how to please Him, to know Him intimately—these are the desires of my heart. To achieve any of these desires, I need to draw close to Him. I need to spend time with Him, and I need to read and understand what He has caused to be written about Himself. I can read five chapters a day or ten chapters of the Word a day until I have read through the Bible, and I can then say, “I have read through the Bible this year.” Whoopee, and what do I remember? Do I know Him better today than I did when I started? Not if I’ve charged through His Word just to get it done! I would rather take five years or even ten years to read through the Bible and come to know His heart. That takes time. That takes effort. That takes trust in Him. That takes perseverance, but what it really takes is love. If I love Him, I will spend whatever time and effort it takes to learn His heart. The advice of many authors who write of meditating upon the Word is: pray first and then read slowly, repeat the reading often, read it aloud, ask yourself questions, ask God to lead you, ask God to speak to you, and then listen, for He will answer. Then you will have drawn closer to God. You will have learned of His heart, and your heart will be blessed and your spirit will be quickened, and your desire will be to read more and meditate more. What a journey awaits us when we commit to meditation upon the Word of God.
Psalm 1:1-3 Meditate on the Word
“God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won’t follow sinners or join in sneering at God. Instead, they find happiness in the Teaching of the Lord, and they think about it day and night. They are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season and always have leaves. Those people succeed in everything they do” (CEV).
To get the most out of meditation upon God’s Holy Word, one must get Alone in a Quiet Place to Pray, Read the Scripture passage Slowly, and Listen. That’s all. No, that’s not all, but it is a good start.
Meditation is a thing to be done Alone, without anyone else except God. It is a time to grow close to God, and that can be done best when it’s just the two of you, God and you. It is essential that it be a quiet time with no external interruptions. It’s probably best to leave your cell phone someplace else, and let it be known that you are not to be disturbed except for emergency because you have a conference planned with the CEO of the universe. A solitary place with no distractions, except perhaps for the beauty of His creation—no radio, no tv, no phone. Prayer is the first item on the agenda of this important conference—prayer to ask for the Word of the Lord to be settled deep into your heart. After prayer, it is time to read the Scripture passage. Read it S L O W L Y, perhaps read it several times, sometimes out loud. It is imperative that the reading be done slowly so that each word has opportunity to be driven deep into your heart by God. Now it is time to Listen, for the Lord will speak. His voice may be booming. His voice may be a soft whisper. His voice may be a knowing in your heart that the Lord has a special meaning for this Scripture for your life.
These words, Alone, Quiet, Place, Pray, Read, Scripture, Slowly, and Listen may not guarantee the result you expect, but know that God will honor the time and effort you have invested, and He will bless you. Look for and expect the blessing. God desires this conference more than you do, and He will have prepared a personal message for your heart.
Might I suggest Romans 8:28 as a Scripture for meditation?
A few days ago, the Lord told me that He was tired of hearing me complain, so He gave me an assignment. I am to find something positive in each day and tell someone about it. My positive from yesterday was the time my wife and I spent with our son and his wife. We sat and talked for hours. It was a very positive and enjoyable time, and I thank God for it.
