Ps. 23: The LORD is My Shepherd

Psalm 23:4 "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."

This Psalm is probably the most iconic, or the most famous at least. I remember as lad having to memorize the entire chapter as part of Awana curriculum. Through no fault of Awana's I never really gave much thought to what the words meant. Or the context. Or what the author went through that led to this writing. It was a bunch of nice sounding words that you could sing.

So what makes this one so great? On the surface, it is very encouraging and empowering. It is the answer to the question, "So what happens when I choose to follow God? What are the things God will do in my life?"

The answers are very simple, and short, making them conducive to teaching the very young about God. 

When I think about a shepherd, I think about how closely he guards his sheep. A shepherd's sheep are his life. His business. What keeps him going. Can we think of ourselves as that critically important to God? Of course God wouldn't die without us, but the 23rd Psalm makes me think we are very important to Him. He is who provides for us.

Green pastures, still waters...pretty idyllic. Away from the distractions, the danger, the sparseness, the desert. I can't think of a better place for a person to restore his soul. Maybe a cobbler.

Verse 3 says "he guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." I never really grasped what that meant. The words were a jumble. But I think the concept is that we reflect him in our deeds. In our righteousness, we show God to others. But God is righteous, and what other path would he guide us on? That's who he is. 

God is protective of us, his children. We can take comfort that he will be our protector. And sometimes he has to use weapons. I don't think the rod and the staff were exclusively to keep us on a certain path. Likely he swung them at predators, bringing the pain train.

I love verse 6. Goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life! Who doesn't want that? It doesn't say "happiness and ease," so I don't want to get that impression. Life is hard, and even David had that revealed to him in sometimes heartbreaking ways. But we can count on God's goodness and His love to bring us through the tough times that set upon us.

Psalm 23 reminds me of:

23 by Deliverance

You Never Let Go by Matt Redman

The Lord is My Shepherd by Keith Green