Positive, Hopeful, Faith against Tension Psalm 23
Are you nervous, tense, worried sick?
I believe this Psalm can change our lives. Some will not be willing – some will.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A Man Is What He Thinks About All Day Long”. Norman Vincent Peal says, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” The Bible says, “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Prov. 23:7).
The 23rd Psalm is a pattern of thinking and when a mind becomes saturated with it, a new way of thinking and a new life are the result. Only 118 words. We memorize it but I’m talking about thinking its thoughts.
The power of this Psalm lies in the fact that it represents a positive, hopeful faith approach to life.
The Lord Is My Shepherd; I shall not want…
Story told immediately after World War II the allied armies gathered up many hungry, homeless children and placed them in large camps. There the children were abundantly fed and cared for. However, at night they didn’t sleep well. They seemed restless and afraid.
Finally, a psychiatrist hit on a solution. After the children were put to bed, they each received a slice of bread to hold. If they wanted more to eat, it was provided but this particular slice was not to be eaten – just to hold.
The slice of bread produced marvelous results. The child would go to sleep, subconsciously feeling it will have something to eat tomorrow. That assurance gave the child a calm and peaceful sleep.
David paints out something of the same feeling in the sheep when he says “The Lord Is My Shepherd. I Shall Now Want.” The sheep know the shepherd has made plans for grazing tomorrow. He knows the Shepherd made ample provision today, so will he tomorrow. So the sheep lies down in its fold figuratively speaking – the piece of bread in his hand.
So this Psalm doesn’t begin with asking God for something. Rather, it is a calm statement of fact, “The Lord is my Shepherd”. We do not have to beg God for things.
God made provision for our needs long before He put man on earth, he put fertility in the soil and life into the seeds. “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before you ask of Him”, said Jesus (Matthew 6:8)
Our greatest worry about tomorrow… is a sin.
Psalm 37:25 – David says, “I have been young and now I am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Neither have I! Have you?
All life came from God. That includes my life. God keeps faith with fowls of the air and grass of the field. And Jesus asks us to think if God will do so much for the simple birds or a flower, how much more He will do for us. (Matthew 6:25,34).
Paul says, “My God shall supply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19).
David puts it “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”. With that faith we can work today without worrying about tomorrow.
He Maketh Me To Lie Down In Green Pastures
One morning as we were hurridly dressing to begin a beautiful morning service at our church in Missiouri where my husband [Rev. Boyd G. Coday] pastored, I felt an excruciating pain in my back – I had to lie down in green pastures.
The Shepherd starts the sheep grazing about 4:00 o’clock in the morning. The sheep walk steadily as they graze, the are never still. By 10:00 a.m., the sun is beaming down, the sheep are hot, tired, and thirsty. The wise Shepherd must not drink when it is hot, neither when it’s stomach is filled with green grass. So, the Shepherd must make the sheep lied down in green pastures, in a cool, soft spot. The sheep will not eat lying down, so he chews his cud, which is nature’s way of digestion.
Study the likes of great people and you will find every one of them drew apart from the hurry of life for rest and reflection. What do you do when the storm arise? Here’s my experience:
The Psalmist said, “Be still, and know that I am God”. Elijah found God, not in earthquake or fire, but in “a still small voice”. Jesus took time to be alone.
This is perhaps the most difficult thing for us to do. We will work for the Lord, we will sing, teach, preach. We forget before Jesus sent out his disciples to conquer the world, He told them to tarry in prayer and the power of God.
Sometimes God puts us on our backs in order to give us a chance to look up. If you’re forced by circumstance to lie down- Remember Saul on the road to Damascus whe he saw the heavenly vision. It can always be a blessed experience!
He Leadeth Me Beside The Still Waters
to be continued…
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