"The Lord is My Shepherd"

A profession of joyful trust in the Lord as the good Shepherd-King.

The beautiful poetry of the King James translation of the Bible is something to savour. Although at times particular old English words can cause some misunderstanding, Psalm 23 is a passage that requires no additional translation.

It is a Psalm that many know off by heart.

The simplistic beauty of the Twenty-Third Psalm provides us light, insight, promise, assurance and peace in the knowledge that God in His awesome, magnificent, glorious and graceful ways 'will never leave nor forsake us' (Deuteronomy 31 v 8).

There are two main parts to this psalm: the Shepherd and His sheep; and the Host and His guests.

 

 The Lord is my Shepherd … that’s a RELATIONSHIP.

The Lord provides and protects but is also our King (cross ref John 10 v 11-15).

I shall not want … that’s SUPPLY.

Satan desires to deceive those who trust in God, and wants them to believe they are lacking and deprived of the good things in life. David tells us that to have God as our shepherd is indeed to have everything we want – true contentment of the soul. He who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-caring, is enough; He is sufficient. With Him we need nothing else (cross ref Psalm 73 v 25-26)

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures … that’s REST.

To lie down in contented, secure rest.
‘Green pastures’ is a metaphor for all that makes life flourish.

He leadeth me beside the still waters … that’s REFRESHMENT.

Leads like a shepherd – cross ref Isaiah 40 v 11.
“Water of resting places” i.e. waters that provide refreshment and wellbeing.

 He restoreth my soul… that’s HEALING.

While a shepherd provides his sheep with food, rest, and restoration, God provides His sheep with His Word, which is the principle means of giving spiritual nourishment, rest, revival, refreshment and restoration (cross ref Psalm 19 v 7a).

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness … that’s GUIDANCE.

Guidance is recognised as one of the principle tasks of the shepherd. As a shepherd leads his sheep to places in paths that offer safety and well-being, taking care to avoid those that are dangerous; the Lord guides us in ways that cause us to be secure and prosperous in our hearts.

For his name’s sake … that’s PURPOSE.

The measure of a shepherd is the condition of his flock. God’s work of saving men by grace (through giving His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins) was for the purpose of bringing ‘praise to the glory of his grace’ (cross ref Ephesians 1 v 5,6, 12, 14).

Thus, the prosperity (of joy and love) in our hearts that we share with others in this world, brings honour to His name in that the love we have and show one another is the love that God himself has for us that displays  his goodness and graciousness.

 Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death … that’s TESTING.

In order for God’s sheep to be led to grassy meadows and restful streams, they must pass through dark and dangerous places. The ‘paths of righteousness’ (v. 3) are not always peaceful paths.

I will fear no evil … that’s PROTECTION.

While we are never promised there will be no evil, we can be assured that we need ‘fear no evil’ if we follow Him. 

For Thou art with me … that’s FAITHFULNESS.

God goes before us when the path is smooth, but He stands beside us when the way is dangerous and frightening. It is His presence which dispels our fears. 

Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me … that’s DISCIPLINE.

His 'rod' and 'staff' give us comfort, serving as instruments of protection, guidance and assistance; both used to ward off enemies and to rescue straying sheep. Disciplinary use of the ‘rod’ is also implied. Discipline seems unpleasant at the time, but is a comfort in the long term (cross ref Heb. 12 v 5-12) and a motivation for us to ‘make our paths straight’ (Heb. 12 v 13). While God may not always use His power to keep us out of trials, we can be reassured that His presence and His power will always be with us to keep us through our trials. As He Himself said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you’ (cross ref Heb. 13 v 5; Deut. 31 v 6; Joshua 1 v 5).

 Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies … that’s HOPE.

Here the second allegory begins. A magnificent banquet is provided by a most liberal and benevolent host; who has not only the bounty to feed me, but power to protect me; and, though surrounded by enemies, I sit down to this table with confidence, knowing that I shall feast in perfect security.

 Thou annointest my head with oil … that’s CONSECRATION.

'Consecrated' means to be set apart, dedicated; precious to the Lord for choosing to serve Him.
Perfumed oil was poured on the heads of distinguished guests, when at the feasts of great personages.

 My cup runneth over … that’s ABUNDANCE.

Satisfaction, significance, and security are all abundantly supplied.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life … that’s BLESSING.

Goodness and lovingkindness are probably the two most comforting attributes of God’s character; they are especially consoling in times of distress. God not only walks before us, leading us to places of rest and refreshment, but His goodness follows us from behind as well.

 ‘All the days of my life’: through all its changes; in every variety of situation; until I reach its close. Life indeed does end, and we ought not venture to speculate when that would be; but as long as life continues, we should confidently be assured that everything needful will be bestowed. The language is the utterance of a heart overflowing with joy and gratitude in the recollection of the past, and full of glad anticipation (as derived from the experience of the past) in regard to the future.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord … that’s SECURITY.

To 'dwell' means ‘to spend one’s life in’… constant service of God with pure joy, peace, love, gratefulness, praise and worship, like that which is forever perfect and abundant in the place where God dwells, and where His Son, Jesus prepares a room for each one that trusts in Him (see John 14:2)…

Forever … Now that’s ETERNITY.

…in His eternal dwelling, Heaven.

 

The blessings and the calmness of soul which David experienced in his life and expressed in this psalm are a delight to know and experience. Assurance of them in our lives is a simply beautiful concept. We must be one of His sheep. In the words of the Good Shepherd Himself: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10 v 27-28).

‘He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart’ ~Isaiah 40 v 11a

 It is amazing to ponder that in order to become the Good Shepherd our Lord first had to become a sheep—‘the Lamb of God’ (John 1 v 29), and give his life so that we might be able to live with Him in Heaven! (John 10 v 15).

 May you ‘live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins’ ~Colossians 1 v 10-14.

 

 Let us grasp that God Himself never fails us, never leaves us, and never will forsake us. Know His voice and Follow Him! KNOW in your heart that he holds those he loves close to his own heart.

 

A life of immeasurable joy

I recently read a book that captivated, inspired and encouraged me. The message resonated deep and true.

The book is the partial memoir of Lydia Prince, as told by her husband Derek Prince. It is the story of three years in the life of a most remarkable woman. Her journey in the quest to find something more that ultimately alters the course of her life in ways she never imagined.

Lydia was a beautiful blue-eyed Danish woman with a picture perfect life. She was comfortable and well established in every way imaginable: education, finances, social position; a fulfilling professional life as head of a department at her school, a luxurious apartment with a devoted maid; a busy social life, a proposal of marriage. However, there was something missing.

Her quest for something more took her to the pages of the black leather Bible that sat on the top shelf of her library. She had once mandatorily read it as a component of a unit of study in her degree. What she discovered ultimately led her to abandon everything and everyone she held dear and journey alone and penniless to an alien land that for centuries had been fraught with violence and danger. There she discovered what all of humanity seek and yet so few find: true joy, peace and perfect security – regardless of the external condition of our lives.

The season of Christmas had recently passed. A traditional Danish Christmas carol had deeply moved her soul.

 My Saviour and my Substitute, all hail!

A crown of thorns the world to Thee assigned;
But, Lord, Thou seest that I have in mind
A crown of roses round Thy cross to bind-
Let me the needed grace and courage find!

She scanned all the books on the shelves of her extensive personal library, noting all the authors on each spine. Years of studying, teaching, quoting left her without the answer she was seeking. She came across the plain volume bound in black on the top shelf, and wondered if the answer could be found inside its pages. She hesitated, then pulled it down and opened at the beginning of the New Testament and came to chapter seven, with red print that indicated Jesus was speaking (p. 31).

‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened’ ~Matthew 7:7-8.

'Enter through the narrow gate…Because small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it’ ~Matthew 7:13, 14.

She realised that somewhere ahead in the path that she was following there was a gate. Inside, there was a way that led to peace and fulfillment. Before she could walk in the way, she had to first find and enter the gate. Lydia knew that she had been seeking for many months, but had never asked (p. 33).

As a child, she was trained to say the Lord’s Prayer each night before she went to sleep. By 12 years of age it became meaningless and monotonous; one night she recalled repeating the Lord’s Prayer in succession ten times so as to be free from the burden of praying it for the next nine nights (p. 33).

She didn’t know what to say, but spoke aloud from the depths of her heart: “Oh God – I do not understand – I do not understand – who God is, who Jesus is, who is the Holy Spirit…but if you show me Jesus as a living reality, I will follow Him!” (p. 33)

The Christmas carol ran through her mind over and over. A river of peace flowed out of her soul as she sang it. It had a new and special significance. She was experiencing indescribable peace, insurmountable joy that she had never known before. The void that was missing that she had been searching to fill had been filled (p. 35).

She continued to read through the New Testament: the passage from the book of John captivated her attention in a way no other literature piece had ever done before – their combination of grandeur and simplicity was powerful (p. 37).

‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…

In him was life, and that life was the light of men…
And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth’ ~John 1:1, 4, 14.

In the days and weeks that passed Lydia experienced real happiness. She was finding purpose in life, something more than a career and an apartment, and nice furniture and a pension at the end of it all (p. 23).

She was developing a passion and compassion for the people of Jerusalem – she did not know why; but she believed God was speaking to her heart. He was preparing her to soon embark on a life-changing journey of serving others, not just herself.

She was challenged with the thought that she had sought for the truth, believed she had found it, but was faced with the challenge of obeying it (p. 58)!

For years, Lydia had ‘built (her) life on (her) own planning and reasoning, but (she) found there is another dimension to living’ (p. 75) … that is living by faith, serving in faith.

She attended an evening service whereby the message spoken by a missionary resonated deep. He opened his address with the verse:

‘For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ ~Ephesians 2:10

This verse spoke loud and clear to Lydia – God has already assigned to each one of us a special task in life. We do not have to plan the work that we do in life; we need to seek the work that God has already planned for us to do; that which is especially appointed for us to complete, no-one else (p. 64).

Lydia sat down with the missionary speaker afterwards, and he encouraged her to “pray earnestly that you may find and do God’s will for your life. That is the purpose for which we were created from eternity, and in the long run nothing else can truly satisfy us.” (p.65)

Lydia had become content to place her hand in that of God and allow Him to lead her, day by day and step by step (p.87); and provide for her every need. Peaceably accepting and willing this to the Lord many a times challenged her. But she was convicted over and over what she knew to be true. He ‘knows what you need before you ask Him’ ~Matthew 6:8b. The Lord tests us; He tested Lydia in awaiting for her approach, her acknowledgement of her true reliance on Him; her requests for her needs that she acknowledges that can only be met by Him.

 

This is the life Lydia sought – to be guided and provided by her one true King – the one who made Her, the one who sent his only Son to die for her – the one who changed her heart, opened her eyes to a new life, gave her purpose, and gave her eternal life.

 I firmly believe Lydia today is now in His glorious presence, reaping the rewards of living a fully satisfying life for Him and sharing his love, his sacrifice and his daily mercies with those around her – serving Him.

 

Lydia established herself in the city of Jerusalem, Israel, and founded a children's home, becoming the cherished "mother" to dozens of Jewish and Arab orphans, mainly girls, eight of whom became her own children.

 There is a lesson to be learnt by all who read of the life and the miracles of Lydia – she exchanged materialistic prosperity for soul contentment. To me this speaks volumes – when your time has come to leave this earth, material possessions mean nothing; what matters is how you lived your life, what you did with it, and the legacy you leave behind (Ecclesiastes 9:1-12).

Death is certain, life is uncertain – do not allow your life to go to waste and have time, ‘chance’ and death catch you unexpectedly. Live your life for Christ – there is more joy for you to enjoy in living for Him than living for yourself, now and forevermore in Heaven.

He unfolds the rose

It had been quite a cold night. I awoke one morning to a blanket of fog. The sun was shining so brightly. Rays of light were hitting the water droplets at an angle that caused them to sparkle. Beautiful! I grabbed my camera...

 

It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God’s design,
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.

 

The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I;
The flower God opens so sweetly,
In my hands would fade and die.

 

If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God’s design,
Then how can I have wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?

 

So I’ll trust Him for His leading
Each moment of every day
And I’ll look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrim way.

 

For the pathway that lies before me
My heavenly Father knows
I’ll trust Him to unfold the moments
Just as He unfolds the rose.

 

~Selma Swanson

 

 

It is my prayer for you, as we begin another year, that you may entrust your Father in Heaven with your rose - with your life. Trust Him to unfold the petals - one at a time, and be blessed with the sweet fragrance and inner joy of doing so.

A New Year

“I the Lord do not change...” ~Malachi 3:6a

Here we are at this point in time again – a whole year later; thinking about the year that was, looking forward to the year ahead and wondering what this New Year might bring. Life seems to be flying by!

Throughout our lifetime, we experience a great deal of change. From life’s first cry to one’s final breath; as the years go by, we see the world and the society in which we live in, change. I love hearing stories from those who have lived many years – about how dramatically the world has changed in their lifetime. Those born in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s – all the experiences and tales they could tell!

It is true with every new year comes new aspirations, hopes, dreams, plans, anticipation and uncertainty. We leave behind another year that holds much joy as it does sorrow and tragedy.

Much can change in one year. Much can happen in a year. I know that full well.

There is one thing, however, that will never change; that is God himself and the love that he has for us, through Christ Jesus, our Lord. It is amazing to think, it is amazing to know that God never changes! Even though our circumstances and the influences that cause change in our life do, he does not! Life and uncertainties may shake us, but God, who is the Rock of Ages (Isaiah 26:4) does not move!

‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows’ ~James 1:17.

God’s unchanging purpose gives you eternal significance. ‘The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations’ ~Psalm 33:11. God’s plan is unchangeable, It existed from the beginning of time and remains the same today. It is overwhelming to think that we are part of his great plan.

“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope” ~Jeremiah 29:11.

‘The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness’ ~Lamentations 3:22-23.

God’s unchangeable ways assure you of unwavering guidance. ‘As for God, his ways are perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless’ ~Psalm 18:30.

God’s unchanging Word equips you with timeless truth. The Bible is forever new, forever relevant, forever timeless. ‘The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever’ ~Isaiah 40:8.

God’s unchanging commitment  guarantees everlasting security and assurance. If you have made the decision to trust in Jesus – to entrust him with your life, your heart and your soul, and declared him as Lord and Saviour, you can be assured of eternal life spent in heaven with him. God is forever (with no end) committed to you: your salvation, growth in a relationship with him, and your eternal destiny.

 ‘For great is your love (O Lord), higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies’ ~Psalm 108:4

‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’ ~Hebrews 13:8.

You stood before creation
Eternity in your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare your promise
My soul now to stand

So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours

~Leah