Read
Psalm 23
Jesus told his disciples that they
would have trouble in the world. There were no ifs, ands, or buts; you will
trouble.
There are no buts, but there is a
constructive “but God” statement that follows this promise of trouble.
But I have overcome the world.
Jesus has overcome the world.
God has overcome all that troubles us.
Do you remember what Jesus told the
disciples before he told them they would have trouble?
He said that what he was about to tell
them was so that in whatever their circumstance, they could have peace.
Some of you who were awake when the
scripture was read aloud might have noted that it was Psalm 23, and I have been
talking about Jesus’s words in John’s gospel. It’s good to notice things like
that, but I am not off track.
We will look momentarily at Psalm 23
through the lens of the promise of trouble in the world. Keep the Psalm itself
intact as a go-to psalm when you need assurance. Rest in these verses when you
need to, but for now, let’s look at this short piece of poetic scripture
focusing on trouble, adversity, conflict, and even enemies.
Still, keep the psalm intact as a
go-to psalm of assurance.
The Lord is my shepherd. That should
be the beginning of most of our affirmations. The Lord is God. The Lord is
good. The Lord is love. The Lord is sovereign. The Lord is my Savior. The Lord
is my friend.
But most of all, he is my shepherd and
in this light, he cares for my every need. The shepherd does not survey the
sheep to see how they feel about a stroll through the pasture, or some time to
rest, or even when it’s time for a haircut.
The shepherd knows what is best for
the sheep, and he acts accordingly. The sheep, given the opportunity, might
have voted for another course of action.
But the shepherd knows what the sheep
need. Our Shepherd knows what we need, and he provides.
Is it provision? Is it safety? Is it
rest? Is it something else?
Green pastures and still waters are
provision given in peace. Most of us long for this sort of peace. We sometimes
think we can get there on our own, but this sort of peace can only come from
one who has the power and authority to protect us.
Green pastures and still waters are
peace and provision. The lion lies down with the lamb sort of stuff.
God’s peace will even penetrate your
soul. He restores at the core level.
The Lord will reset you to factory
settings. He will give you a taste of Eden even in this world gone crazy.
But it’s not all about our peace. That
would just be selfish, narcissistic, and all about me. It’s also about
righteousness. Peace without righteousness is the world’s selling point.
Satisfy yourself.
The world’s sales pitch is that it can
gratify all of your wants, which it disguises as needs.
The psalmist notes that this
righteousness is the path that the Lord has set for us. A couple of psalms later, we come to some familiar words.
Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
Many of the psalms that we know ask
for protection and provision. That’s human nature. The psalmist knows to cry
out to the Lord if you need these things.
Many of the psalms are about being
rescued from our enemies. We know the world is more than we can handle alone.
We cry out to the Lord.
Many of the psalms recount the mighty
acts of God. Sometimes, our human spirit, our soul, our very being needs
assurance. We see what the Lord has done and trust that he will continue to
reign sovereign for eternity.
Some of the psalms ask for what we
need to stay in step with God. He leads me in the path of righteousness because
that’s who he is. The Lord is righteous,
and all things considered, we should go his way.
Too often, we are rocking out with Lindsey
Buckingham and Stevie Nicks singing Go Your Own Way, when we should be
keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and going his way. Or for you old timers, you
are singing I did it my way with Frank Sinatra.
Let’s get to the nitty-gritty.
Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
The translations that I checked did
not capitalize the valley of the shadow of death, so I’m comfortable with
taking this one as metaphorical and not necessarily geographical. It could be
any really, really tough set of circumstances in our lives, not just a place on
a map.
We know figurative language—even
Jesus used it. We have mountaintop experiences—highs. We have down in the valley
experiences—lows. We know what it means
to be in the valley.
Read your commentaries, and you will
find some interesting twists, but I am confident that the shadow of death
applies to all of us, not just a select few living in the vicinity of David’s
Israel.
Back in the day, I might have
misquoted this verse to read because I am the biggest, badest… You know the
spiel. And while there are still bad guys in the world, it’s one that you hope
your enemies take note of, but not the assurance promised in the psalm. Now we
just say, and find out… That’s the only par that makes it into Sunday’s
message.
The psalmist notes that we are without
fear not because of who we are or what we can do alone, but because of God. We don’t fear because God’s got this.
Specifically, today we do not fear
because God’s grace is enough for me. I have already won the ultimate victory.
All the world can take from me is my life in this body.
Whether we live or we die today, the
Lord is with us. We will not be afraid. His rod and his staff comfort me.
Here is the really cool part. God
prepares a table for us right in front of our enemy.
Yes, we are provisioned when we rest
beside the still waters. We are comforted in the places we expect comfort—green
pastures.
We are also provisioned and comforted
when we are face-to-face with the enemy. God says ‘Watch this.” I am going to
prepare a really good meal for you, and your enemies will just have to watch.
Do you remember God telling Gideon to
keep sending warriors home? The victory would surely be in the hands of the
Lord and not superior numbers.
God’s got this!
The psalmist tells us to let God show
his stuff in our lives from time to time. Let him prepare a table for us right
in front of our enemies.
Once we do that, we might just have
eyes to see that the Lord is provisioning us generously all the time, even when
we think we don’t have much, or enough, or can’t survive the day.
We will begin to see God at work more
and more in every situation. He’s been there all along, but now we might just
get to see him at work.
Thou anointest my head with oil.
Right in front of your enemies, God
says, “I choose him.” He says, “My favor is upon her.”
God tells everyone, “This one’s with
me.”
My cup runneth over.
Really? I’m praying daily that I make
it through the day and the psalmist has the audacity to think I have
enough. I get by each day, but this
image of whatever is in the cup overflowing is a bit much.
We need to go back to those eyes to
see. Can we see beyond our immediate struggles—the trouble that we were
promised—to what is in store?
Can we say with sincerity, “Your grace is enough?”
If we look at what is promised and
compare it to what is in store for us, we will see as Paul did centuries later,
that this present suffering is nothing compared to what
is to come.
We have already won. Jesus won the
victory. Our cups are more than filled, even if they seem a little dry at the
moment.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
This is more than favor in front of
our enemies. It is more than a place to rest. It is more than provision. This
is an identity.
We are people who now keep company
with goodness and mercy. It’s not that we just receive these things from the
Lord; we now become these things. We are people known
as followers of Jesus by our love.
We are all about putting a smile on
God’s face. We do that when we do things God’s Way and forsake the everything
else.
We do that when we show mercy to our
brothers and sisters. And we have a home with the Lord, and that’s forever.
Jesus told his followers that he left
them to go and prepare a place for them. We will be with the Lord forever.
You can now say with certainty, “I
will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
You will have trouble in the world.
You will know peace in heaven.
But in between the times of hardship
and the eternal bliss that we anticipate, we have Psalm 23 to affirm to us that
God’s got this.
Recite the psalm as you walk or drive or
do the dishes.
Say it before you take on the troubles
of the day. Be strengthened and affirmed that you are secure in God’s way,
regardless of what the world throws at you.
So how do we wrap up this most
familiar of the psalms?
Start your day with:
· Thank you, Lord. Add whatever specifics are on
your hearts and minds.
· Say out loud: Your grace is enough for
me.
· Begin reciting Psalm 23 and go for as long as
you can. You might even pick it up later in the day. It’s not just for
breakfast anymore.
Now go have a good day. Bring glory to
God. Produce good fruit for God, his kingdom, and the body of Christ.
Go into the world with certainty that
God’s got this. Be encouraged and affirmed that even in the midst of
trouble—even when the enemy is at the gates—God’s got this.
Know that the Lord is your shepherd
and do your best to know
his voice. The answers you seek come in the worlds of your Shepherd, who
also happens to be your Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Priest, Elohim, Jehovah, El
Shaddai, God Almighty, and your Friend.
The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not
want.
God’s got this.
Amen.
