Do you need an encouraging word?
October 10, 2023
A few days ago, I was on my way home and I thought about a psalm I had read that morning. The psalm says to trust in the Lord and then uses this terminology—“enjoy good pasture.” By those words, I had written sometime in the past: “literally, feed on his faithfulness.” I pondered what that meant and thanked God for ways in which he has done just that. I thanked him for simple things I had just experienced—such as the pool at the Y that I had just come from. And the afternoon before when I was raking leaves in the front yard and, without warning, a loud thud in the driveway turned out to be a huge limb that landed there. My neighbor, who saw it happen, said “someone is looking out for you!” Minutes before I had been in that very spot.
I returned to a psalm the next morning which speaks of God as our protector and guide throughout life. It’s the one we all know—Psalm 23. David starts with “The Lord” and ends with “the Lord” as he presents the familiar picture to those of that day, that of the shepherd. Later, Jesus spoke of Himself as “the good shepherd.” Whereas he says the thief, our enemy, “comes only to steal and kill and destroy,” He comes that we “might have life and have it abundantly.”
A good way to read Psalm 23 is to consider the actions of the shepherd—He leads, He restores, He is with me, He comforts—and more.
The Bible I used for my morning reading had alternate readings in the Hebrew that were words of encouragement to me and so they are given below. [The generous permission in the front of this Bible allows me to reprint this.]
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters [Hebrew beside waters of rest].
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness [Or in right paths] for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death [Or, the valley of deep darkness],
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 [Or only] goodness and mercy [Or steadfast love] shall follow
me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. (The ESV Bible)