The Lord Cares Deeply for You... Psalm 23

"The Lord is My Shepherd" He is my pastor, my leader, my guide. He will show me the way to go. He will guide me with His eye. If I turn to the right or to the left, I will hear a voice behind me saying "go this way or go that way." He will keep me on the righteous path and in His perfect will. He whispers, "trust and fully abandon yourself to Me." "I Shall not want" There is nothing that is too hard for my God. He will always meet whatever are the needs of my life. He is my Provider; He is my Healer. He knows what I need before I even ask. He longs to be there for me. He, Himself, fulfills the longings of my soul. He clarifies for me what a true need is. He helps me to understand want. He helps me to adjust my desires that they be in line with His heart, His mind, His plans. Then, there is no need that He won't provide. He has already made provision, because He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He speaks into my ear, "Daily look to Me, I am your Provision; trust My Way to meet whatever the need is. I Am your God." "He makes me to lie down in green pastures" As I lie in bed, meditating on these words, I could picture the beauty of the pastures; the bright colors. I could sense the serenity and feel the peace. He nudges me when I need to lie down. Be still my soul. Lie down, take in the beauty. Receive the gentleness of God's Presence; the sweet blow of the wind of the Holy Spirit. And, allow the Voice of the Word, to flow into your spirit. Stretch, stretch out; stretch your muscles, your feet, your toes. stretch your fingers, your hands, your arms. Allow your whole body, your nose, your face, your eyes, to stretch. Then release... inhale... exhale. Let go of stress. Let go of the way of the world, the rushing pace, the busyness. Let go of the pushing and greediness of the flesh, the need to proclaim yourself. Allow the Triune Presence to hold you, hug you, caress you. Be comforted. Be at rest. "He leads me besides still waters" God is Faithful! His very nature is Faithful. I can count on Him to lead me. He will lead me. I do not have to be concerned or afraid of the rushing waters of this life, the rumblings of the waves too high for me to see, or the waterfalls going so deep that I can't reach into them. Still waters... peace, flowing, yes, peacefully flowing. No matter how it looks on the outside, in the world I live in, the environment around me, the water is still - the Lord God Almighty is leading. He is in charge! "He restores my soul" My heart...my mind... my will... my emotions... God restores. I imagine this word in the original language meant a continuous restoration. Throughout each day of the battles of life, of the world versus the Kingdom of God on earth, the flesh versus the spirit, my way versus His Way, He restores my soul. He restores my soul from the heat of the day, and the coldness that I may encounter. He restores my soul from the rejection that I at times experience or the conflict of some relationship. He brings my soul back to Him - He is the Maker of my soul. He repairs it, He cleanses it. He removes the ugly in it and replaces it with His beauty, His Goodness, His Joy; His words and His thoughts. Bless the Lord, Oh, my soul. He forgives my sins and delivers me from my iniquitous ways. He makes my soul to be open to Him, to His Good News. Thank you Lord for leading me out of depression, sadness, grief and despair. Thank you for working in my soul that I can hear Your Voice and Your Sound. Thank you for empowering me to know You better, to have a smile in my soul. Thank you for restoring my soul! "He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake" For His name's sake... He is Righteous! One of God's names is Righteous! Because of the work that Jesus accomplished on the Cross for me, taking my sins on His body, shedding His blood, to wash them away, dying, going down to the grave and hell for me. But, oh, how Awesome is He in being resurrected! Coming up from hell and the grave without the sin, the dirt, and the darkness, so I now can be/am made righteous through Him! I am righteous in the sight of God because of what Jesus Christ did for me! And, it is His Name, the representation of His Name that God leads me to... to doing things His Way. Righteous is His Way; The Way of our Lord. He knows the way that I take and when I come forth, I will be as pure gold, in every season, through every situation. He will keep me on the Path called Righteousness because I am His and He is mine. He is Faithful to His own. I don't know the Way unless He leads me. I have nothing apart from Him, I follow His lead... because He is my Shepherd, the One who lovingly cares for me, "I follow..." "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" Even though He is leading me, and He is with me and never leaves me or gives up on me, there are times that I walk through the valley of the shadow of death; hard times, difficult relationships, issues that seem insurmountable, sometimes death. Death of self (it hurts and requires the funeral of letting go) and sometimes death of someone I love or admire. But, I am only walking through. Going through it often feels so overwhelming that all I can see is the valley. It is sometimes all consuming, as though life and light have disappeared. But, what is so wonderful, a principle that I have to keep hidden in my heart is that it is only a shadow! A shadow of death. It is a necessary walk that requires death to those things, situations, attitudes, ways, thoughts and sometimes, relationships, that keep me from an absolute surrender, a full abandonment to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; my True Love. It seems like real death, the problems that arise, the crisis' that I at times experience. Or the relationship grief that visits on occasion. It can be so painful, so gloomy, so dark, that it seems like death for real. But God uses these challenges, these shadows, to bring me to the Life that He sponsors, which is Light and full and abundant! It comes once I have walked through the valley; when I have engaged the shadows. And, when I, because of Him, become a conqueror. Then, on each new walk... "I will fear no evil. For You (God) are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." God shows Himself to be real on my behalf! No matter what happens or what it looks like, He is there protecting me!! Fear is gone because I have a faith in my Lord God that has become sure of His protection and of His might. No fear... fear no evil. The enemy’s greatest weapon is fear. He uses it in many ways, from subtle to outright and huge. He tricks me into fear. When I watch the news and hear of all the ways he is leading people to evil. Or to hurting others, even family member against family member. Sometimes, even church people/Christians, who yield to him in a moment bringing big news for the world to view. But I walk by faith and not by sight. I must be mindful of how much time I give to voices other than The Shepherd's, like the news or some news caster in my life who is full of the drama that the world presents. I must keep my face looking into His face... to keep my faith in Him intact. Fear and faith cannot operate together. I must choose. And when I am afraid, and can't seem to shake it, I will quickly run to Him, my Shepherd who is with me. He has the rod and the staff to fight for me. He shuns off the evil and comforts me in my fear. Oh Lord, surround me in Your Comfort, in Your comforting arms. Speak Your words of comfort into my soul. Let me see Your rod and Your staff at those times I need to see them. Deliver me from fear. Help me to take Your word into me and to choose to walk by faith in You, my Shepherd. Thank you for Your grace and love and compassion! "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" God continues to provide! His provision is exceeding and abundant, above what I can ask, or thing, or even imagine! In the face of my enemies, whose job is to dissuade me form the Lord and His Ways, or to demean and degrade me by various evil tactics, God is right there meeting me, making the way for me! He even allows me above my need. I get to occasionally travel, going places and doing things that we cannot afford. At times, I stand in the midst of people who I seemingly, am not considered to be in the number. Doors and opportunities of the Divine Nature are opened to me... and all this, in the presence of my enemies! Some enemies have human faces. Some are spiritual beings. Regardless, though, my Shepherd prepares the way for me. He makes the provision. He has the ram in the bush. Even when I don't see it, realize it, or are in a pout/self pity mode. He helps me by bringing me to the table. The reminder for me is to keep my eyes on my Glorious Lord; my Shepherd who is ever leading me and guiding me along the way. Who never leads me astray. I trust the Holy Spirit to remind me not to allow the presence of my enemies to overshadow the Presence of Almighty God. His Presence controls the atmosphere that where ever I am, He is, too and the table is always ready and prepared just for me. "You anoint my head with oil" I think of the oil that fell down Aaron's beard. God gives me the power and ability to accomplish His will, His plan. His power is in me and upon me because He has anointed my head with oil, with the power of His Spirit! I am covered with the oil of gladness and filled with the oil of grace. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can leap over walls and climb over mountains, not because of me, but because of Christ, the Anointed One, who lives in me and gives me the anointing. Nothing is too hard for God, nothing is impossible with Him! His Holy Spirit, His Holy Anointing empowers me to think wisely, like Him; to make wisdom decisions, like Him. And,to stand firm in my faith, in Him. Thank you, Lord! I do not have to rely on me or my so called skills, knowledge, experience, personality, or on anyone else's. You, Lord are my Shepherd, I trust in You who have anointed me to live for You and do Your perfect will. "My cup runs over" Essentially, I am in the overflow! God has given me spiritual blessings that have no limit! His Presence, His Provision, His Power, never ends! I have more than enough to complete every task, assignment or responsibility that He gives me. The God who is More Than Enough has given me more than enough for everything that this life presents! I yield to this, I receive it, and I walk in it. Lord, help me to do my part to remain cognizant that my cup runs over - that I am in the overflow! "Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" Surely, meaning without question, no doubt, with full confidence. Goodness-all the good that is in God, and mercy-His Great Compassion and Loving kindness, shall always be with me! No matter what, I can rest with full assurance in the Truth that my Shepherd is with me every single day of my life! He is there to turn situations to good. His mercy is present to help me feel His love, that I can forgive, repent, or have mercy on some one else. He is always there...for me! His plans for me are good and His mercy for me, endures forever, way beyond me into my current and future generations. Because He is, was and forever will be, my Shepherd who leads, but also, follows me. He is behind me, too, to watch over me. And, to keep me on the right path. My God, my Shepherd is completely involved in my life, all the time, everyday, and in every way... all the days of my life. "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever!" How Awesome is my God! He says, "I abide in you and you abide in Me." This is what it means to dwell. He wants me to stay there with Him, to live with Him. And He wants to stay with me. We live in the same place, together! The House of the Lord, is Him. Being in Him! In Him, I live, and move and have my being! My life, (because of Jesus Christ and my acceptance of Him), is eternally in the Lord. No turning back. This is my commitment, my choice and desire. This is my stance. No slipping to the other side. Because my Shepherd leads me, I can trust that any movement off His path, He will guide me to the Truth. I hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. The voice of the stranger I shall not follow. His Truth, hearing it and knowing it, sets me free from the traps that are set to harm me. It's always my choice to follow and to yield. But, I am in Him. He is in me. He helps me to discern, to know and to choose. There isn't a day that He doesn't see me, hear me or stand for me. He lives in me! I dwell in His House! I am never without Him! Only Lord, I pray, help me and my brothers and sisters reading this, quoting this, and proclaiming it over ourselves, to get the revelation deep in our souls: You are God, our Shepherd, who leads us, and who is with us always. You love and care for us deeply. You go before us and are behind us as our rear guard. You walk alongside us, we are Your friends. You are our Shepherd who has everything under control! You protect us, You fight for us. We don't see the unseen, but You do, so we trust in You. All is well no matter what the circumstances say because You My Shepherd are at work to will and to do of Your good pleasure in us, for us... for Your name's sake. AMEN