Psalm 23

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by Sharla Guenther

Psalm 23 is one of the more famous psalms written by David the King.  This was the same David who took down Goliath with a slingshot and some smooth stones.

David was now King but he was also a musician and liked to write poems and songs.  This particular psalm is about God being his Shepherd-King.

Keep in mind that David used to be a shepherd.  He remembers how he lead and cared for a herd of sheep.

At first thought a King and a Shepherd are very different.  When I think about a King I think of a royal crown, a large castle, servants, large fancy meals and a beautiful Queen.  When I think of a shepherd I think of a servant who works in the fields with raggedy old clothes and a small bag lunch. 

There is also something that a Shepherd and a King have in common too.  They both take care of something.  A King is supposed to look after and protect the kingdom of people under him and a Shepherd looks after and protects his herd of sheep.

A King might have fancier stuff than a shepherd but they both have an important job. 

David might compare God to a shepherd because sometimes when we think of kings we think of someone snobby, who thinks he’s way more important than us and he couldn’t possibly know each person in his kingdom. 

A shepherd on the other hand seems like a regular person that works hard and takes care and loves each of his sheep.  We wouldn’t be afraid to talk to a shepherd and could just be ourselves around him.

David knows that God isn’t like the kings on earth so he compares Him to a loving shepherd taking care of his people so we can get a better picture of what God is like.

So, throughout this chapter even though David is talking about himself as a sheep.  I think it was meant for us to read and see ourselves as the sheep and God as our shepherd. 

After thinking about a shepherd I thought about sheep and how they completely rely on the shepherd for food, shelter and safety.  Just like we need to rely on God. 

You might think that your parents provide all this for you but your parents rely and trust in God to give them a job, money and blessings so they can give you what you need.

Another important point is that sheep don’t know as much as a shepherd.  If you really think about it sheep are pretty dumb compared to a shepherd.  Compared to God we don’t know too much either!  God knows our future, He made us and the whole world.

The first part of the psalm David talks about God being his shepherd and he is the sheep.  The shepherd makes sure his sheep has everything he needs like nice green grass and clean water.  God gives him peace and rest because he can trust Him.

God keeps him on the good path.  Even when there’s rough times he doesn’t have to be afraid.  God is always with him and He can make him feel better when he needs it.

Then David talks about a banquet that God the King would prepare.  There were lots of important, fancy banquets for kings and since David was a king he was thinking how God would treat him.  (I don’t think David is still referring to himself as a sheep).

God would prepare a banquet for David and protect him from his enemies.  He would treat David like a royal guest and anoint him.

In those days people would get anointed to become king or if they were recognized as being someone special.  David was trying to say that even though he was King, God recognized him as more than a king but as someone even more special to Him.

David ends by saying that he will continually be blessed by God with lots of goodness and love and he is looking forward to living with God forever.

God is our Shepherd-King and we are his sheep.  God is guiding us, protecting us and He loves us.  We don’t know as much as God does so we have to trust Him.

Becoming a Redwood

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By  Dana Gioia

Stand in a field long enough, and the sounds   

start up again. The crickets, the invisible   

toad who claims that change is possible,

And all the other life too small to name.   

First one, then another, until innumerable

they merge into the single voice of a summer hill.

Yes, it’s hard to stand still, hour after hour,   

fixed as a fencepost, hearing the steers

snort in the dark pasture, smelling the manure.

And paralyzed by the mystery of how a stone   

can bear to be a stone, the pain

the grass endures breaking through the earth’s crust.

Unimaginable the redwoods on the far hill,   

rooted for centuries, the living wood grown tall

and thickened with a hundred thousand days of light.

The old windmill creaks in perfect time

to the wind shaking the miles of pasture grass,   

and the last farmhouse light goes off.

Something moves nearby. Coyotes hunt   

these hills and packs of feral dogs.

But standing here at night accepts all that.

You are your own pale shadow in the quarter moon,   

moving more slowly than the crippled stars,   

part of the moonlight as the moonlight falls,

Part of the grass that answers the wind,

part of the midnight’s watchfulness that knows   

there is no silence but when danger comes.

A Still Small Voice

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It has been my observation while trying to make sense of the Book of Job that sometimes God speaks to us with an audible voice, a whirlwind, an angel, a prophet, or a dream. He even writes stuff on a wall (Daniel 5). If we hear an audible or see a big sign, we feel more confident stepping out – we will follow the plan. When he is subtle, we can often get timid. It is easy to doubt what we are hearing. For sure we need to confirm all messages with scripture, but the truth is simple – God speaks in the way he decides is best for the specific situation. We are wise to trust his judgement.

We all experience confusing circumstances (1 John 4:1). Sometimes we just want God to send a text message to tell us what to do. Maybe you feel far from God and want Him to reach out to reassure you He is still there. Maybe you have heard people say the God of the Bible is personal, but you have never interacted with God before and wonder how to begin. The one true living God communicates with each of us.

This communication mode is central to the notion we are created in the Image of God. He always reaches out in the way that is best for us and best for the circumstances we are in (implied in Psalms 143:8). However, never assume he will communicate on your timetable. When you say something to another person, we wait for a response. If nothing ensues, we rapidly follow up – Did you hear me? What say you? Yet when talking with God, a timetable and polite responding is not part of the game. The communication plan is his, the schedule to communicate is his, the message is his. We are told to rest and be still. Wait. Help is coming!

So how does God speak to us? On the night Jesus was arrested, He spoke to His closest friends. He knew that He was going to return to His Father (implied in Matthew 26:47-56). His friends, the disciples, had spent several years with Jesus every day. They never struggled to hear His voice. But this was changing. Soon, His disciples would need guidance every day to make decisions about where to go and what to do next.

Jesus told his disciples — I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own authority; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come (John 16:12-15). The comm plan emerges! And the wait begins. They barely understood what the spirit of truth was all about. But they waited. They trusted Jesus to do what he planned on his timetable.

Fast forward to now – after the second chapter of Acts (the arrival of the Holy Spirit is documented in Acts 2). The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life changes everything about hearing God’s voice. His presence delivers complete confidence that He lives within you and is always ready to deliver guidance. The Holy Spirit is our communications portal.

We read in 1 Corinthians 2:9-13 a description of the communication portal — What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love himthese are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. [NIV]

However, if we are not focused on God regularly, it is implausible to expect clear communication. God often speaks through the Bible. He uses scripture (coupled with insight from the Holy Spirit) to help us live the life we are called to live (implied in 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is full of lessons, experiences with God, wisdom, truth, and the message you need to hear to enhance and give direction to our ‘walk with God.’ Reading scripture on a regular basis is paramount. Getting to know the message is paramount. Learning the vocabulary of God is paramount. The message we hear will always align with Scripture.

Studying the Bible, spending time in prayer, and talking with other followers of Jesus are not just part of our to-do list – these actions are paramount. God encourages us to do these things because they help us to learn about His character and learn to recognize His guidance. However, I would be remiss if I did not say in clear language — If you think you have heard God speak to you, but it seems to be inconsistent with scripture, it is unlikely the message you heard came from Him. Pay attention, verify, then act on the message (implied in 1 John 4:1). Do not let Lucifer or your imagination get you into trouble.

AW Tozer said – the voice of God is a friendly unassuming voice. No one need fear to listen to it unless he has already made up his mind to resist it… Whoever listens will hear [God in Heaven speaking].

I think we are incredibly blessed be in contact with the one true living God. The more I learn and write about his attributes the more astonishing I find his attentiveness to our personal needs. Words fail me. We worship a God with undefinable range and power. Then comes us; finite and incredibly frail – needy. Goodness. I am prostrate on the floor. No place else to be. No words left except…

I choose Jesus.

AW Tozer

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“Sometimes I go to God and say, “God, if Thou dost never answer another prayer while I live on this earth, I will still worship Thee as long as I live and, in the ages, to come for what Thou hast done already. God’s already put me so far in debt that if I were to live one million millenniums, I couldn’t pay Him for what He’s done for me.” ― a quote from AW Tozer

The Steadfast Heart.

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To Jacob, a friend of mine. I am sorry for your troubles. Let me tell you about somebody else who has a story like your story. I heard her story many years ago. Her name was Patty. In her early days, Patty lived a faithful life focused on Jesus. She was active in her church choir, spent hours praying for others. She made meals for neighbors when their children were sick. But then Patty broke her back. She rarely asked why, Patty simply tried to be true to God no matter how bad it got. Patty could have sat on the ground and withered away. She was completely flattened by life. The increased health care insurance premiums caused her boss to let her go. Quickly after the release, her house was repossessed by the bank for lack of payments. Patty had no place to go. Her girlfriend stepped in and invited Patty to shelter in her house until she recovered from the injury and found more work.

Gradually Patty was getting better. Then her friend died from a kidney rupture. Once again, her life was in turmoil, but her girlfriend had told the children that Patty should remain in the house. Then the children of the girl friend reneged on their agreement, took the house, and pushed Patty onto the street. She had no family, money, or place to go. She only had the clothes on her back. Gradually, things got better. She drifted to a new city and started again – she remained in the eye of the Hurricane.

I heard about Patty when she was working at a church thrift store — after all this happened. As I listened to the story, it appeared this woman, who had been faithful to God, had been completely crushed. Patty should have given up on God. She should have quit. She had every human excuse to stomp her foot and curse God. But Patty did not. In time, God restored her life with new friends, a job, a home, and the things she needed to live her remaining life in fullness. Through all of this, she stayed the course.

Abraham should have let go of the dream from God and returned to the land of his parents. He should have quit. Abraham should have told God that this covenant thing was dead, he was too old and completely unable to make a life in this new place. Yet, God had called Abraham several years earlier and Abraham responded. He left his home and traveled to a distant land. He left for this new place because God had promised to bless him with land, children, and prosperity (Genesis 12:1-13,18). However, none of that was forth coming. So far, this new place brought him famine, conflict with other groups, no children, and personal threats upon his life. Abraham had nothing to show except a sad adventure story.

So, he asks for guidance from God and once more God steadies him…be patient (Genesis 15:18). But after that conversation, all Abraham obtained was more silence (Genesis 16:1-6). He should have given up on God. He should have quit. But he did not and we know the rest of the story. Abraham became the father of many nations. We Christians continue to be adapted into his family (read the book of Hebrews).

Paul says — Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

In the face of what could be deemed as God’s failure, neither Patty nor Abraham gave up. They did not quit. They lived within his strength. All during her time of trouble, Patty would take aside young women who were in deep trouble, pray for them, encourage them, take them under her wing, and help them to trust in God despite their troubles. Abraham became the father of many nations. God is sovereign. No questions, no whining, just obedience. He is sovereign. When we are faithful, in the end he is faithful. Even if we waver a bit during the dark days, he is faithful. He loves us.

I choose Jesus.