Are you discouraged?
Are you depressed?
Are you lonely?
Are you feeling overwhelmed?
The devil would love for you to take your eyes off the Shepherd
and onto yourself, dwelling in your misery.
PSALM 23
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.
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.
5 You prepare
a table before me
in the
presence of my enemies;
you anoint
my head with oil;
my cup
overflows.
6 Surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me
all the
days of my life,
and I
shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
In our journey through
Psalm 23 so far, we have seen the privilege it is, to become sheep of the
Shepherd. Our needs are met, as He leads us to necessary nourishment. We come
broken, needing the specific and wise care the shepherd provides for us, and as
we daily live in a difficult world, He protects and guides us.
This caring intervention
in our lives provides the comfort we need. In English, ‘comfort’ means to
soothe in times of affliction or distress. In the Hebrew, this word includes
the idea that this comfort is motivated by compassion.
Could you imagine God as a
Good Shepherd without the reality of His compassion for us? God is moved by
compassion!
We must not forget why we
even have a relationship with the Shepherd. He saw us without direction,
incapable of making sense of our lives, under the weight of our sin, condemned
to a Christless eternity, sheep with broken lives, living in a broken world. But
He prepared for our need, before the foundation of the world: the Good Shepherd
would give His life for the sake of His sheep.
God is not surprised by
our state; he is not distracted by other events, but is meticulously working in
our lives to prepare us for His presence.
Ephesians 5:25-27
25 …as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify
her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in
splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be
holy and without blemish.
Do you ever stop and think
about the higher purposes that God has for you? He is cleansing you through the
Word. As life’s difficulties expose parts of our lives that are still broken,
God wants the truth of the His Word to transform us. God wants us without spot
or wrinkle, that is holy, set apart, without blemish, without sin. We are being
prepared with unmatched care, to be fit to be in His glorious presence.
The Holy Spirit is the One
who is our comforter; He is our helper.
John 14:16-17, 25-27
16 “If you love me, you
will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Helper, to be with you
forever,17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells
with you and will be in you.
25“These things I have
spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the
Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you
all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to
you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as
the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled,
neither let them be afraid.
Jesus reminded us that we
can certainly be encouraged, because He has overcome the world.
John 16:33
I have said these things
to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will
have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Paul prayed that the
believers, who were being persecuted in Rome
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill
you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy
Spirit you may abound in hope.
2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17
16 Now may our Lord Jesus
Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal
comfort and good hope through grace,17 comfort your hearts
and establish them in every good work and word.
God knows that we need to
be comforted, in our daily struggles and needs. He has given us His Word and
sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us so that we would be comforted with what is
eternal, even as we live in this world.
I am, at times,
disappointed with myself because just when I think I have learned this lesson,
I find myself again spiritually losing sight of God’s presence and His eternal
purposes.
Are you discouraged? Are
you depressed? Are you lonely? Are you feeling overwhelmed? The devil would
love for you to take your eyes off the Shepherd and onto yourself, dwelling in
your misery.
When Satan asked God to
come against Job, his premise was that men worship God only when things go
well.
Job 1:9-11
9 Then Satan answered
the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have
you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every
side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have
increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand
and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
Dear friend, God is close
to His sheep. He is carefully at work in you and in me. His presence, His
character, His strength, His wisdom, and His love are our comfort. Where else
would you ever go?
John 6:66-69
66 After this many of his
disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said
to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon
Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you
are the Holy One of God.”
How are you answering the
same question today?
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