Tag: Psalms

Restore, Refresh, Revive

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He restores my soul.

Psalm 23:3a (ESV)

Our Good Shepherd cares for us so deeply that there is no want within us for anything other than the Shepherd himself. There is nothing lacking in our lives as our Shepherd leads us beside still waters and makes us lie down in green pastures. He brings us to the place of peace and rest found only in Jesus. And as we are made to lie down and rest in the green pasture beside still waters, the Good Shepherd restores our soul. He restores, refreshes, and revives our heart. He brings vitality and health to our weary and broken life. It is such a wonderful picture to think about. The Shepherd and me lying in the green grass together beside the still waters. Resting together. Spending intimate time together. Enjoying each other’s presence. And in all of this, the Shepherd is restoring my soul.

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Peace and Rest

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He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. (ESV)

Psalm 23:2

In verse one of Psalm 23, David tells us about our Personal and Present Shepherd who cares and provides for every need of the sheep in his flock. Amazingly, David tells us that if we belong to the Good Shepherd, we will not be in want for anything. If I am the Shepherd’s and the Shepherd is mine, then I shall not want. This is a tremendous statement when you pause and reflect on its meaning for your life. I am not in want. This of course leads me to ask the question, “how does my Shepherd bring me into a state of not wanting?” Anticipating this question, David’s next two statements provide the answer. “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” In other words he brings about peace so that I can find rest and refreshment. He does this by both “making me” and “leading me” to the place of peaceful rest.

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Personal and Present

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The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 23:1 (ESV)

I have always found great comfort in Psalm 23 throughout the 33 years of my spiritual journey, but it has been these last 4 years when it has become the singular passage that the Lord continues to bring to the forefront of my mind. Psalm 23 speaks to me in a wide array of circumstances. From high points of joy and exuberance to the deep valleys of despair and doubt, the Lord continues to bring this Psalm to the forefront of my Christian journey, and I have been immeasurably blessed because of it. I often find myself meditating and reflecting on verse one alone. There is such a beautiful simplicity to it, yet the truth it conveys is deep and powerful. I find myself mulling it over in my mind most nights as I lay in bed waiting to drift off to sleep. I spend these moments rolling each word around in my head and letting them speak to me as individual words in the context of the whole verse. I have found it to be a powerful reforming agent that works daily miracles in my stubborn heart.

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God’s Remedy

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Journal Entry // May 9, 2021

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Psalm 150:6 ESV

Positive and negative, praise and condemnation, light and dark, righteous and unrighteous, truth and lies, contentment and desire, love and hate, joy and sadness, peace and conflict, patience and anxiety, kindness and harmful, goodness and selfishness, faithfulness and betrayal, gentleness and harshness, self-control and covering.

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Near and Present

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Journal Entry // May 7, 2021

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:18 ESV

The Lord is near. He is not far away from me that it requires him to delay in hearing me. He is here with me even now in this moment. As I call upon him in truth. His truth. His word of truth spoken through the lives of faithful men and women through the ages. His word kept pure and holy. His true word.

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Days of Old

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Journal Entry // May 6, 2021

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.

Psalm 143:5 ESV

Remember, Meditate, Ponder… The good and faithful hand of the Lord is upon me in each and every situation at each and every moment. When my spirit and my heart are struggling, the mighty works of God are the prescription for healing and strength.

David is genuinely helpful when it comes to the matters of the heart and soul. He can write a psalm where he seems so negative and distraught, so completely honest before himself and God. He lays his feelings out before the Lord and brings them out into the open. He doesn’t let his fears or guilt or shame just languish within working bitterness and doubt deep into his soul. He brings this before the Lord.

This is essentially the same as what Peter tells us when he says we should humble ourselves before God’s mighty hand and cast all our anxieties onto him. Why? Because he cares for us. This is the truth of the matter. The heavy hand of God may be upon me bringing me to a point of humility. He allows and even ordains suffering and adversity to permeate my life because he loves me. He sets me in a place of humility because he cares for me.

This is why I need to remember, meditate, and ponder on God’s good works in my life. His faithfulness and love is my motivation for enduring suffering and adversity. Better than that, I can then see that the suffering and adversity is a blessing to draw me closer to Jesus. That as I continue to keep my eyes on Jesus, he himself will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me. Maybe not in a way that the world around me recognizes or even honors. I may never again see leadership or influence as I previously had. But I know that I will have something far more than honors in this world.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the marks I want to outline my life. I want to be so engaged with Christ that this world and all that it offers fades away. That my eyes will be able to see through the lies and deception around me as the peace of God anchors me in his love and grace and mercy and compassion. Trusting in Christ alone.

Holy Sharing

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Journal Entry // May 5. 2021

I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.

Psalm 142:2 ESV

I need to spend more time meditating over this entire Psalm as it speaks directly into how I am feeling at the moment. There is such a simple and honest truth about the words and picture that David uses in this psalm that convey his feelings and emotions. You can feel his desperation, his anxiousness, his fear as he works through his soul.

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Wicked Incline

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Journal Entry // May 4, 2021

Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds

Psalm 141:4 ESV

I am struggling with feeling trapped in this current situation of life. I know that this is where God has placed me and I know that this is surely for my best in the pursuit of delighting in Christ the Lord. I completely and most assuredly understand that this path God has set before me is for my good and his glory. But I want to turn from it and set my feet upon a path of my own choosing.

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Search and Know

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Journal Entry // May 2, 2021

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! [24] And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

Is this passage what I truly want the Lord to do in my life? It sounds so amazing and wonderful to ask the Lord to lead me in the way everlasting, but the steps involved in this process seem overwhelmingly difficult. The Psalmist is asking the Lord to search him and to try/test him. All so the Lord can know his heart and thoughts. In order for sin to be removed and righteousness to be developed.

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Weaned Child

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Journal Entry // April 25, 2021

But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Psalm 131:2 ESV

A calm and quiet soul is one that is at rest in the loving providence and care of Almighty God. This soul understands the fear of the Lord and in wisdom chooses to be calm and quiet. This soul does not eat the bread of anxious toil, but has decided to be humbly reliant upon his good good Father. To be like a weaned child with is mother.

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