The Lord Is My Shepherd

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Psalm 23 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
1        The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2        He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3        He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4        Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5        Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6        Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalm 23:1-6, KJV) 

 

REFLECTIONS:
Verse 1 could have been the key verse for this devotional, but I love this Psalm so much, I could not leave verse 1 standing alone.  Nor could I choose a different translation than the King James translation I memorized so many years ago.

My hope is those of you reading this devotional already know how to experience the peace and comfort this beautiful Psalm can provide without further analysis here. Instead of digging deeper into the meaning of this Psalm, I thought it might be helpful to remind parents and grandparents how important scripture memorization can be in helping a child/person throughout their life.  My family attended churches that provided programs for children (like AWANA, at PRF) that included scripture memorization.  Throughout my life, I have found myself reflecting upon Psalm 23 to provide comfort when no one else was able to comfort me.  Even now I can visualize the green pastures and still waters and feel my breath deepening and slowing with the peace my shepherd provides by ‘leading me’ to a better place.  I have not been a very obedient sheep throughout my adult life, but my patient and kind Shepherd has pursued me until He brought me back into His fold. 

I never thought about how important scripture memorization has been to me until I was assigned this Psalm to write a devotional.  While this may not count as a proper devotional, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind parents to do the best they can to arrange their children’s schedules to be able to participate in AWANA.  The scriptures they memorize (and maybe you will memorize in helping them practice) will last a lifetime and give them support, direction and comfort.  I now realize scripture memorization was the best preparation for a successful life my parents could have ever provided. 

“Thy words I have hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11) 


PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, our faithful Shepherd, thank You for continuing to lead us to the green pastures and protect us while we rest and receive nourishment in Your care.  Help us to daily seek Your will and obediently follow You “in the paths of righteousness.”  Then we can sing with David, the author of Psalm 23, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” 


WHO AM I?
I am Linda Stewart and I discovered these rather large pets searching out a greener pasture in our yard a few months ago (when we still had some grass in the yard).