TWENTY THIRD PSALM
The Lord is my shepherd;
THAT’S RELATIONSHIP
THAT’S RELATIONSHIP
I shall not want.
THAT’S SUPPLY!
THAT’S SUPPLY!
He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures:
THAT’S REST!
in green pastures:
THAT’S REST!
He leadeth me beside still waters.
THAT’S REFRESHMENT!
THAT’S REFRESHMENT!
He restoreth my soul;
THAT’S HEALING!
THAT’S HEALING!
He leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness
THAT’S GUIDANCE!
of righteousness
THAT’S GUIDANCE!
For His name sake.
THAT’S PURPOSE!
THAT’S PURPOSE!
Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
THAT’S TESTING!
of the shadow of death,
THAT’S TESTING!
I will fear no evil;
THAT’S PROTECTION!
THAT’S PROTECTION!
For Thou art with me:
THAT’S FAITHFULNESS!
THAT’S FAITHFULNESS!
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
THAT’S DISCIPLINE!
THAT’S DISCIPLINE!
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
THAT’S HOPE!
in the presence of mine enemies:
THAT’S HOPE!
Thou anointest my head with oil;
THAT’S CONSECRATION!
THAT’S CONSECRATION!
My cup runneth over.
THAT’S ABUNDANCE!
THAT’S ABUNDANCE!
Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life:
THAT’S BLESSING!
follow me all the days of my life:
THAT’S BLESSING!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
THAT’S SECURITY!
THAT’S SECURITY!
forever.
THAT’S ETERNITY!
~ Author unknown
I am struggling with the “testing” part. Could you comment on that? I am in a situation where I feel like I am in the belly of the whale, but it is confusing to me because I do not believe God punishes.
And that’s awesome!
I enjoyed reading this. Two points of interest for me: “Though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, THAT’S TESTING!” As I understand it, testing comes from what seems to be our humsn mind….this is not God’s Mind. The human mind would make us feel that God is testing us, or that God is punishing us in some way, however, all these issues can be completely dissovled and peace and freedom can be gained when we fully understand that there is only one Mind that governs us, the divine Mind. The word Mind, with a capital is a synomyn of God. God’s Mind is creative,intelligent, it governs and directs us harmoniously, and never tests His/Her children, because God knows His/Her children are perfect, what is there to test, yet the so-called human mind (which doesn’t really exist) would try to confuse us by making us believe we are being tested. The only sense of testing quickly ends when we realize the truth about it….that’s it not real.
About the line: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: THAT’S HOPE!” I believe its much more than hope, its VICTORY! The word “enemies” can mean all our negative thinking and poor quality thoughts that would attempt to drag us down in the dumps, no matter what they are of where they seems to be coming from, whether ourselves or others. God takes us out to dinner, out on the town in grand style by meeting our needs in every way…thus we trample on those poor quality thoughts that would try to convince us that we are alone in the universe without help from our God, until these thought disappear from our thinking and that’s VICTORY!.
To above on the word “testing.”
There is more than one way to understand the concept of testing. I see “testing” in this case, as the opportunity to prove what you know of God. God never sets us up to fail. God always sets us up to succeed. That’s what God does. What the human mind calls a “test” is simply an opportunity to prove that God’s love and power is present to meet the need and gain the triumph. It’s an experience to relish, value and grow from, not fear or dread.
To Anonymous…here’s how I’ve thought about trials…maybe this will help you…
God does not send us trials, but trials do serve to bring us closer to God. And what could possibly be better than that? Getting closer to God. “Trials teach us not to lean on a material staff…” “Trials are proofs of God’s care.” Both of these statements are from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
I’ve found over and over again that every trial in my experience — whether it’s a physical challenge, relationship challenge or however it might appear,– has caused me to desire to know God’s nature better and to be a clearer expression myself of His nature. For example, several years ago I struggled with a severe internal pain. I knew that God, Love had not caused this, so my yearning was just to get to know God’s nature as pure Love better. This hunger for a deeper understanding of God, Love impelled a desire for growth in grace, and I came to see that I could express that grace through more patience, meekness (a conscious awareness that all good comes from God), mercy (treating others better than they deserve), good deeds (loving, helpful actions and words). This shift in focus from the problem to my active and intentional endeavor to improve my own expression of Love resulted in a permanent healing of this physical imposition. What has remained from this experience is a deeper affection for the power of Love to renovate my thinking and actions and thus, my experience. Divine Love tangibly moved me through the dark moments of this ‘trial’ or ‘test’ into the sunlight of harmony and freedom. Love actually fills all space — even the belly of the whale — and is causing us to know Her better and our present wholeness as Her expression!
As far as the testing goes, I’ve noticed that each line in this Psalm starts with what the Lord does, except the one taking me thru the valley of death. So I bring on my own testing by taking steps in a direction that God has not led me. But even so,He doesn’t abandon me. He is there to help me find my way out and be comforted and even triumph.
I love this, Evan! And in response to the question from Anonymous about the “testing” part, I couldn’t agree more with you and others about what this means.
I would add another idea here, too. Often a “test” congers up anxiety, fear, doubt, etc. of our ability to meet what’s being demanded. But this view of a “testing” is exactly what Jesus put down in the wilderness when Satan, or evil, challenged him. Jesus saw immediately the trick — it’s not about our ability nor is it about tempting God to be an “on the spot” performer. Rather, it’s about our awakening to God’s constant and permanent supremacy and omnipotence, period! And the fact that we are God’s image, reflection gives us the authority to ace the test. I love what Lori said because sometimes these “tests” are short or singular and sometimes they seem to take longer to complete and may be a series of things healed that bring about healing to the overarching issue. But the result is always the same–Christian healing!
‘tho I walk thru the valley of the SHADOW of death…..the key word is “SHADOW”….it’s nothing….just a shadow therefore there is nothing to fear.
and….”Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies”…that’s protection….just think….you can sit at your table and no evil/enemy can come near you/your thoughts.
In the line:
“though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,”
I like the word “through”. To me that signifies that we keep on going, rather than getting stuck or held back in a bad place. We keep right on going, knowing God is there with us, leading us on.
From the person who questioned the “testing” part: thank you all for your responses. You have lifted my thought and given me much to contemplate.