“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Look at the first word: surely. David didn’t say “Maybe goodness and mercy shall follow me.” Or “Possibly goodness and mercy shall follow me.” Or “I have a hunch that good and mercy shall follow me.” David could have used one of those phrases. But he didn’t. He believed in sure God who makes sure promises and provides a sure foundation. Our moods may shift, but God doesn’t. Our minds may change, but God doesn’t. Our devotion may falter, but God never does. Even if we are faithless, he is faithful. And because He is a sure G ..read more

“I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” David knew the feeling of loneliness. He knew it in his family. He was one of eight sons of Jesse. And when Samuel the prophet asked to see Jesse's boys, David was forgotten and overlooked. The prophet counted and asked if there wasn't another child somewhere. Jesse snapped his fingers as if he had forgotten his phone. “I still have the youngest. He is out taking care of the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11). How would you feel if a family meeting was called and you were forgotten and overlooked?  Not much changed when he became an adult. David had to ..read more

Psalm 23 - “I Will Fear No Evil…” “I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).  It is an astonishing thing to be walking through a valley of deep darkness and to not fear it for the simple reason that you know you do not walk it alone. It is at this point, for the very first time in the Psalm, that we move from hearing about the shepherd to speaking to the shepherd. We transition from the third-person “he” to now addressing him directly in the second-person “you.” It is one thing to be able to see that someone is with me but quite another thing to be able to turn toward th ..read more

Psalm 23 - “The Valley of the Shadow of Death…” “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” (Psalm 23:4). Up to this point the sheep in Psalm 23 have been passive. The sheep are being made to lie down, and being led, and being restored, but now there is actual movement where the sheep are walking and going somewhere. But the unexpected development in the story of Psalm 23 is that the Good Shepherd's “path of righteousness” often includes “the valley of the shadow of death.” Friends, your “valley” right now is not the destination ..read more

Psalm 23 - “He Leads Me in Paths of Righteousness” Many people today confuse the nature of true freedom. We think freedom is found in forging our own path through life and by being “true to ourselves” or striving to live “the best version of ourselves.” While those might be some of the results of following the Good Shepherd, they are not the primary purpose of our lives. Psalm 23 tells us that true freedom is found along someone else's path, not my own. Psalm 23:3 conveys the idea that the shepherd is leading, and is therefore ahead of us, and we are behind him, following in his footsteps ..read more

Psalm 23 - “He Restores My Soul” “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul…” (Ps. 23:1-3). Every Memorial Day weekend, a number of people travel to “get away” from the hustle and bustle, the stress and demands of life. Some of them visit family and friends. Others escape to a secluded area near trees and mountains or bodies of water. Why are we so drawn to mountains, forests, and oceans when we choose a vacation destination? Why does sitting by a lake for an hour or more leave us relaxed? Ra ..read more

Psalm 23 - “Green Pastures & Still Waters” It afflicts 70 million Americans. It is responsible for 1 million motor vehicle crashes, and 8,000 deaths each year in the U.S. Teenagers suffer from it. Senior citizens are afflicted by it. Researchers say the most severe cases occur between the ages of thirty and forty. What is it? Alcohol abuse? Binge watching? The answer may surprise you: Insomnia. One of five Americans can’t get to sleep at night. And I’m sure there’s many more who can’t stay asleep. We have too much to do, and too little sleep to go on. And so many of us face each day ti ..read more

Psalm 23: “...I shall not want.” (What He Provides) “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” If David’s personal experience and testimony of God’s care is like that of a good shepherd, he then expresses the natural outworking of that relationship by saying, “...I shall not want.” Really? You want nothing? I “want” all the time. I'm sure you do too. “Want” is all around us; we all want things. We want better health, better bodies (or new bodies), better grades, better jobs, better pay, better relationships. We want peace and quiet. We want a vacation. An end to war. So how do we underst ..read more

Psalm 23: “The LORD is my shepherd…” (Who He Is) One of the most astonishing aspects of this verse is often quickly passed over because we move so fast to the primary image of the sheep and the shepherd. We are so drawn to the picture of what God does in shepherding us – that is, making us lie down in green pastures and leading us beside still waters – that we don’t pause long enough at the stunning truth of who is shepherding us – is it the “LORD.” In the English translation, the word “LORD” is in all capital letters. That’s because it is communicating something important about who God is ..read more

As we take a step back and examine the structure of Psalm 23, we see three notable pictures or vignettes of our relationship with God: The sheep & the shepherd (vv. 1-3) - 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. The traveler & the companion (v. 4) - 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. The guest & the host (vv ..read more