“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousnessfor his name’s sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:1-6, NIV).
I’m sure like me you’ve been to many funerals where the beautiful and encouraging verses of Psalm 23 were prominently printed on the back of a funeral announcement. In fact, the Psalm is so equated with death and funerals that most believers do not stop to think about the fact that the Psalm does not refer to death until the very last line, “…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (v. 6).
Psalm 23 is filled with wonderful promises for the living. Spend a little time reading and meditating on these verses and you’ll become convinced beyond any doubt that God is good and that he is a very present help regardless of what you are facing or going through. I want to encourage to take this Psalm back from the dead and apply it to your life today. I’ve listed the amazing and precious promises for you below. God truly is good…all the time.
v. 1a – “The Lord is my shepherd” (care)
v. 1b – “I shall not be in want” (provision)
v. 2a – “He makes me lie down in green pastures” (abundance)
v. 2b – “he leads be besides quiet waters” (peace)
v. 3a – “he restores my soul” (restoration)
v. 3b – “He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (direction)
v. 4 – “Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death (walk through don’t buy a condo), I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (protection)
v. 5a – “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies (no enemies in heaven)” (victory)
v. 5b – “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (anointing)
v. 6a – “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” (manifested goodness and love)
v. 6b – “and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (eternal life)
It’s good to be one of his little sheep…
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