You Know the 23rd Psalm... But Do You Know the Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm?
As I warred through dreams in the night, waking only to literally quote Psalm 23, I realized it had become a weapon of mass destruction in my hands... Here's how I launched it:
- The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want:
The Lord watches over me and I will lack no good thing, He will always leave the 99 to come find me should I ever wander away from His presence.
- He makes me to lie down in green pastures:
Even in the wilderness spaces He is always leading me to the nourishment that is supplied by the desert rains and every time I feed there, it will sustain me as I journey to my destination. He alone can supply the replenishment and sustenance I desire.
- He leads me beside the still waters:
The first thing I see as I approach the brook of refreshment is my own reflection and I realize how desperate I am to drink of it's depth. When I remember that The Shepherd IS the living water and when I drink of Him, I shall never thirst again. I bow low and splash the cool water on my face and into my soul and I'm refreshed.
- He restores my soul:
My soul wars with my spirit. My spirit knows The Shepherd but my soul feels fear and tells me that maybe He really isn't good after all and that I can't truly trust Him. My soul is in constant conflict with my spirit and is in desperate need of healing... One touch from The Shepherd would bring restoration and my spirit bows in submission to the redemptive work of healing for a wounded and sin-sick heart.
- He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake:
Time with The Shepherd has revealed my own depraved and wicked mindset but He is offering a breastplate of righteousness to me that will cover this heart of stone as it is being remade. His own righteousness in exchange for my filthy rags... I don't deserve it but His name demands that mercy triumph over judgement. I humbly accept it.
- Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me:
The valley of death is not only a place of decaying flesh, but a place where the corruptible meets the incorruptible and a necessary solo journey as a sheep led to slaughter must take place. It is the place that I would have never ventured on my own, but once the trudging through its depths has revealed its working of internal crucifixion, I have found that the nearness of The Shepherd forces me to see that my desperate soul can in fact trust Him and He is inerrantly good. The evil did its best to take me out but when you've faced the most evil parts of yourself and knelt in surrender to His goodness, it loses its power. The Shepherd was with me.
- Your rod and Your staff they comfort me:
The rod of correction is love in action. The Father only chastens those whom He loves... It wasn't until I was a parent that I truly grasped how true this is. It has been within the loving boundaries of this correction that I found my value to Him. In the valley when my bloody wounds leaked every issue I had, this rod assured me that I wouldn't find solace in my own rebellion. The staff of authority was a beacon of light as I first caught glimpse of it lying against the table. My eyes were bloodshot and dim when I lifted my head from my crawling position... But as I did, I knew that the staff could only belong to The Shepherd... He was there waiting and preparing...
- You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:
The table. It holds a feast. My enemies have stood by, lurking and wondering if the valley would claim me for itself or if my trust in The Shepherd would silence it's scream. He prepared the feast in plain sight, to prove a point to them... And to me. Their presence is proof that my value to each opposing kingdom was certain. Either way, I was going to lead forces in an army. This celebration was to declare that I'd stood. I'd stood in The Shepherd's righteousness, I'd been sustained in His green pastures, I'd bowed down to drink of the living water, I'd faced evil in the valley of death and conquered it, I'd submitted to His rod and surrendered my will... I'd stood, and now... I was marked for war.
- You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows:
Just as David was anointed for service by the prophet, I, the unlikely one, humbly kneel before my Prophet Shepherd and accept this call. No longer my own, no longer crawling through deaths ditches, no longer unsure of His goodness... I simply bow and receive the oil of gladness. I've forgotten my enemies are watching. They haven't... But I have. I'm too enamoured with His glory and too eager to drink of the cup. Oh, I'm fully aware that this cup will on occasion hold new wine, but it will in time hold suffering. Will I desire it to overflow then? I'm fully pursuaded that if it is poured by His hand, it will be good, and I decide that either way...I will drink.
- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever
I've settled in my heart that the purpose of the valley was so that I would know The Shepherd. That's it. That's all. That's everything. I've always called Him "The Good Shepherd"... I've sung songs about Him, but I suppose you don't really KNOW Him as The Good Shepherd until your very life depends on His goodness AND your faith in it. I learned that His name indeed demands that His Mercy will triumph over judgement. I rest in the fact that goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I have decided to live, to dwell, to abide in His house forever and ever... It's my Dad's house, where else would I be?
