Psalm 23

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Psalm 23

Psalm 23 NIV

A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

God is our Shepherd

Some translations say ‘He leads me down the right paths’. or ‘paths of righteousness’. This is both the SAFE paths, and the RIGHTEOUS paths

And these paths, they don’t always feel safe. David talks about feeling like he’s wakling through the valley of the shadow of death. In the hebrew, the word means something like ‘deep darkness that represents extreme danger’. But david, in this deepest darkness, that he will not fear the evil - because he has such a great shepherd

But remember, they are paths of righteousness. They are steps that don’t just lead us through danger - they lead us towards the goal of being in the presence of God.

And I’ve had a lot of people ask me, ‘what are the next steps I should take?’ Because deep down, we don’t want to miss the path. We don’t want to lose our way. And as much as we trust God, it’s ourselves we don’t trust. But I think there’s a deep truth here in this that we miss.

John 14:6

John 14:6 NIV

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus IS the way. Not that jesus HAS the way. Or he KNOWS the way. Jesus IS the way.

And this sounds so simplistic - but the bible backs it up.

John 6:40

John 6:40 NIV

For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Now, we can’t say two things. We can’t say this is easy - the life of following and trying to be like Jesus takes work. But we also can’t say, ‘we don’t know the way’.

In the bible, Jesus was talking with his disciples. And this was before His death, so they hadn’t yet received the holy spirit. They were in that phase where they were still dumb as rocks. And Jesus was explaining to them about how he was going to die, and go to be with His father, and he was going to prepare a place for them. And they asked him, ‘how can we know the way? We don’t know where you’re going’. And the verse I quoted above, that’s how Jesus responded.

So this is something we can say with confidence -

As I get to know Jesus, I am getting to know the way

I may not have the answers about what turns to take, what the path will look like, or what things will happen. But the bible is clear - you know the way. Because you know Jesus.

And really, real peace as a Christian comes in understanding that our peace is found in simply knowing Jesus, not in knowing Jesus’ plan. If our peace comes from the plan, then our heart isn’t fully on Jesus

And David here, he knows what to expect from God. He knows to expect that God will lead him. That God will guide him. That God will bring him to good places of refreshing, and quiet. David’s faith in the shadow of death, the darkest valley, says ‘God is leading me, guiding me. I am God’s sheep, and He is my shepherd’.

God is our Victory

I am a food person. So is my wife. We’re both big on food. For Christmas, I got her this thing called a yum box. It’s just snacks. They say that true riches is being able to eat whatever you feel like eating. And i’m not going to argue with that.

David uses this great image of God preparing this great feast. And that’s what God draws us towards. Sometimes, we have an image of God as somebody who likes to see us suffer. And nothing could be further from the truth.

Maybe, your image of God is somebody who wants you to wait on him hand and foot, who abuses you like a slave, and doesn’t care about you. but you miss the subtle language usage here. God is the one who prepares the table. His goal here is to put on a great meal, where we’re his treasured guests. He wants to bless us, and he wants us to be with Him. We’re not the poor schmucks that hes’ stooped to allow in - we’re the people he’s throwing the feast for to begin with.

This feast is going to be ‘in the presence of my enemies’. And this has almost a morbid sound to it, but here’s the point - that our victory in Christ will be so complete, so solid, that even the things that oppose us will be able to see and recognize it.

I used to be a sprinter. And I was pretty good. I won my town trials, and placed 7th in the province. But this isn’t, hey, you won your little race, here’s a medal. I knew a guy in school who went on to be an olympic rower, and he won a gold medal. And when they presented him this medal, they played the video all across my school . And imagine being an olympic athlete. You didn’t just win - you got put on a podium, and the whole world saw you get handed a victory.

But here’s the truth - you didn’t win by your own goodness or might. You won because of how much and how deeply God loves you. Because remember - you’re not the warrior in this psalm. You’re the sheep. But God chose to lift YOU up in His great victory. And his victory is so great, so complete, so grand, that every inch of creation is going to see it. Every evil, every problem that we will ever face - they will all lose.

Victory in God is not some subtle thing where, we get through the other end of the shadow of the valley of death, and we say, ‘Ya, i guess I understand the logic there. I have a new appreciation for the information. Thanks!.’

Victory in God is a powerful and eternal thing

And you can SEE david’s confidence in this truth.David says ‘surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life’.

Now, to be clear here - he doesn’t say ‘surely goodness and love will follow me’. He’s not saying, i’m confident all my days will be nothing but sunshine and lollipops and riding unicorns. what he says is, ‘God, i know YOU will be with me all the days of my life’.

And again, we go back to that confidence piece. We say, ‘I trust God, but I don’t trust myself’. And there’s some truth to that. but here’s the other side of it - the all powerful, all knowing, supreme God of the universe - he loves you, he wants to be with you, and he wants to guide you to good things. So in whatever way you can’t trust yourself - You can trust God more.

David ends off this psalm by saying, ‘I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever’. And this is a beautiful image of what we can expect from a life of following God. That when all is said and done, when we pass on from this life - we have a house, and a feast, awaiting us. And Jesus confirms this same thing for us:

John 14:1-3

John 14:1–3 NIV

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

So this is the God that Psalm 23 talks about. The god who guides us and leads us towards green pastures and quiet waters - but the God who does it with so much power and righteousness that we nothing to fear even in the midst of the deepest darkness. The God who prepares a table and a victory for us, but such a complete and total victory that everyone will see it and know it. And the God who prepares a place for us, that we can find all of these things - rest, peace, joy, fulfillment - forever.

So we can really, and truly say

We will fear no evil