Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing ² He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water.  ³ He restores my strength.  He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation.  ⁴ Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me.  ⁵ You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies.  You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full.  ⁶ Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.”

As I read, prayed, and contemplated the Word of God today, I was drawn to an extremely familiar Psalm.   The Holy Spirit broke it down for me, and I share, not to impress you with some new revelation but to reemphasize the truth known.

Psalm 23 begins with the indispensable truth – God is!    God is our shepherd.   That is a vital truth.  This not only emphasizes Him as Savior but as Lord.   He is our beginning, our ending, and all in between. In the beginning, God.   This God, our Savior and Lord, is our pathway to life.   What do we have that did not originate in Him?   Only our sin.   All else flows from Him.

He provides our daily sustenance: “He takes me to lush green pastures.” He provides me with water.  The human body cannot survive without water, and the spirit cannot flourish without the water of the Word.   “He leads me to refreshing waters.” “He restores my strength.”   They that wait upon the Lord have a renewal of strength.   In Him, we have stamina.   In Him, we do not grow weary and faint. In Him!

“He leads me down the right paths.”   Guidance is critical, but notice something interesting.  It is not singular (path) but (paths). In every choice and decision of life, He guides, not drives, to the right choices. We have to cooperate, but He is leading.   If He is LORD, we have no lack of food, water, strength, and guidance. No lack!

“Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger…” Hope is my foundation.  I do not fear life, death, the devil, or people because… because He is guiding me.  He is Lord!  He is my source and sustenance.   He is my water of life.   He is my strength.   He is my guide. Therefore, fear is banished, and trust is my cornerstone.

“… Your rod and staff reassures me.”    I live in the assurance that I am protected.  That condition is one of fearlessness and confident expectation. It is life in the no-lack zone!   “You prepare a feast before me in the presence of my enemies.”

“You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full.”   The anointing is a full anointing that is constant, not an infrequent experience. My cup is full or overflows! His person pursues us (goodness, mercy, faithfulness), which relentlessly pursues us, looking for the opportunity to display that grace to and upon us.

The last is powerful. “I will live in the LORD’S house for the rest of my life.”   What house and what is in the house?   Was David talking about the palace God had given him, the temple not yet built, or heaven? Maybe all three!

In God’s house or presence is fullness of joy.   In God’s presence is provision, protection, power, peace, anointing, guidance, grace, strength, and life abundant.   What’s in the house?  Everything we need!  David declared that God would be his abiding place for the remainder of his earthly journey!   In that place, there is no fear, faltering, or failure!  The LORD is whatever we need when we need it and in the amount we need.

He is all we need! Focus on the Shepherd, and provision will become the natural flow. I encourage you to meditate on Psalm 23 and implement what the Holy Spirit leads you to. It is personal, “My Shepherd.”

May your day be filled with the awareness of His presence!

Psalm 11:1 – “In the Lord I have taken shelter.  How can you say to me,“Flee to a mountain like a bird.^”

As a new day dawns, we need to remember that the Mercies of the LORD are new every morning!   That is another reason to long for the morning as we await the uncovering of God’s treasures.   God’s incomparable love is overwhelming and almost unbelievable.   It never ends, nor does mine.

I am reminded of God’s faithfulness as I drink from the Foundation of the Word of God.    I love Psalm 11, where the Psalmist’s counselor urged him to hide from the difficult situations facing him.   He boldly declared, “In the LORD, I have taken shelter.  How can you say to me, “Flee to a mountain like a bird?”  

That reminds me of Fats Domino’s song – “What are you gonna do when the well runs dry?”   Just as Fats promised to stay with her, God is with us in trouble.

His counselor pressed further, planting the thought of hopelessness, asking, “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the godly accomplish?”   The response was, “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven (the pinnacle of authority); His eyes watch…” God is never unaware, nor is He incapable of delivering us.

Why run from trouble or let the cares of life stress us to the max?  Remember who God is, where He is, and that He Knows Everything!

In Psalm 12, the Psalmist could have been speaking of our day, saying, “The godly have disappeared, people of integrity have vanished.  People lie to one another; they flatter and deceive.”   God’s response was, “I will spring into action…”

Therefore, buckle up, buttercup; God is about to strut His stuff.   He is about to show up and show out.  The Last Days move is moving.

2 Peter 2 is a powerful revelation describing this Last Days condition and move.  It speaks of God’s divine justice and explains the current shaking in the church.  God is God and is building His church and preparing the Bride for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Psalm 15 asks, “LORD, who may be a guest in Your home?  Who may live on Your Holy Hill?”    God’s response was, “Whoever lives a blameless life does what is right and speaks honestly.  He does not slander or harm others or insult his neighbor… He makes a firm commitment and keeps his word.”   The fruit of righteousness flows out of the heart and is manifested in actions.

Psalm 16:8 is a great expression of confidence – “I constantly trust the LORD; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”   No shaking for the secure!  No security for the shaken.

Our heart’s cry must be “I’m Yours, LORD.  Everything I am or hope to be is Yours.  Everything I have is on loan from heaven.  So, make the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart acceptable and pleasing to You!”

With God, we can charge an army and leap over any wall of obstacle.  Like the little lady said when asked about her faith, “If God tells me to jump through a hole in the wall, it’s my business to jump, and God’s to make the hole in the wall.”    Don’t try to do God’s job; just trust and obey.  We are overcomers through Him!

There is Victory today!  Have a fantastic, victorious day, and know that even if the well runs dry, God never runs out of water!

Job 22:21-30 – “Reconcile yourself with God, and be at peace with him; in this way your prosperity will be good.  ²² Accept instruction from his mouth and store up his words in your heart.  ²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent, ²⁴ and throw your gold in the dust—your gold of Ophir among the rocks in the ravines—²⁵ then the Almighty himself will be your gold, and the choicest silver for you.   ²⁶ Surely then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face toward God.
²⁷ You will pray to him and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him.  ²⁸ Whatever you decide on a matter, it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.  ²⁹ When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then he will save the downcast; ³⁰ he will deliver even someone who is not innocent, who will escape through the cleanness of your hands.”

The thought of the ‘Liveness’ of God or the reality that He is ‘The Living God’ flooded my thoughts today.   The Book of Job is intriguing for me on many levels.   It is believed to be the oldest book in the Bible.  The characters and events predate the Law of Moses.  Yet, within it, we discover New Testament revelations that are eternal and timeless.

In Job 22:21-30, Eliphaz’s discourse contains a picture of Grace and, simultaneously, is Pharisaical (works and earning favor).   Mankind has the propensity to try to earn favor and deserve mercy or blessing.  Grace is not earnable; it is a gift of love.

In Job 23:8-17, Job reveals an awareness of God’s omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence.  In verse 13, he declares, “But He is unchangeable, and who can change Him?  Whatever He has desired, He does!” He is God, eternal!

In Job 27:5-6, Job reminds us of a critical mindset we all need.  “…I will not set aside my integrity!  I will maintain my righteousness and never let go; my conscience will not reproach me for as long as I live.”

Tragically, too many believe the accusations hurled at them by the devil.   They live in condemnation and see themselves in the flaws rather than bathed in the blood of Jesus, forgiven, and justified.   They give up their integrity and cast away their confidence because they hear the accusations focusing on their perceived flaws.

We all have flaws and are not perfect.  However, the perfect one is in us by Grace!  We are new creations and are being transformed from glory to glory.  It is not our flaws that concern God, but our commitment to never give up.

Job 28 is almost like reading Proverbs about wisdom.  In verse 28, we find the golden nugget that helps us prevail: “The fear (referential awe) of the LORD—That is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.”

Job understood and had an intimate relationship with God, as is seen in Job 29:4 – “…I was in my most productive time when God’s intimate friendship was experienced in my tent.”

The God of Job, Abraham, Moses, Noah, and the apostles is our God.  Hebrews 13:8 is our constant confidence – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”   Hebrews 13:6, “I will never leave you, and I will never abandon you.”

That is our source of confidence.   Because of who He is, we can live with no fear.

• No fear of people.
• No fear of lack.
• No fear of rejection.

So, let’s begin to live, think, talk, and behave as if He were telling the truth.   Dare to do and be what He has directed.  The kingdom desires it, and the world needs it.  Be who you are because that’s who you are.  Two reports are before us.  We will believe one of them.  I choose to believe God’s assessment, not the devil’s.  Today is Victory Day!

May your day be prosperous and filled with the presence of God!

Psalm 1:1-3 – “How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers.  ² Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s  commands; he meditates on his commands day and night.  ³ He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off.  He succeeds in everything he attempts.”

Psalm One has proven time and again to be a launching pad of discovery and comfort.   In Psalm One, God contrasts those who fear, follow, pursue, and serve God and those who do not.   We all have choices and choices, and they always have consequences or results.

Some notable characteristics identify the lover of God.  That person finds pleasure in obeying God’s commandments.   In fact, this person loves God so much and enjoys doing what God desires, so they meditate on His Word continuously.  It fills their hearts and minds.

The result is stability in everything and all the time!  No vacillation or wavering.  They discover the life-giving water of the Word and the fertilizer of the Spirit, which results in an abundance of spiritual fruit manifested and harvested in their lives.  They have the right fruit at the right time for the right reason.

Their leaves do not fall off, indicating that they stay vibrant.  Here is an astounding provision and promise – “He succeeds in EVERYTHING he attempts.”  Do you have that?  Be honest.  Why not if you do not?  In verse six, we have the amazing assurance – “Certainly, the LORD guards the way of the godly…”

In 1 Peter, we read about Salvation!   We read about God’s abundance of life, grace, peace, protection, provision, purpose, and power.  Then, in 1 Peter 1:13-25, the apostle points us to the pathway or entryway to those promises.

It is Grace plus Faith plus Action.  The directive is, Get your mind ready for action, BY… by what?   By being fully sober with our Hope set completely on Grace (Jesus).  Resist evil urges but rather pursue holiness and, through the Holy Spirit, become holy.

Verse 22 is revelatory, “You HAVE purified your souls BY obeying the truth in order to show sincere mutual love.”   Chapter 2, verse 1 gives us something we are to do and cultivate – “Get rid of ALL evil, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.  Yearn like a newborn longs for its mother’s milk, the milk of God’s Word.”

In that condition and from that position, we both resist the devil, and he has no choice but to flee.   We cast ALL our cares, concerns, and needs upon Jesus, knowing He cares for us and Never Fails!

Therefore, let each of us become an oak of righteousness and a tree whose tap roots are in God’s stream.   We have a world to win.  Let us be trees that never wither, and when the end of this life comes, be vibrant fruit-producing trees in God’s garden.

May your day be bright and your leaves green and flourishing in the presence and power of God!