Make sure its being prepared for you.

Go with me if you will to Psalms 23 and it reads:

A Psalm of David

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3 He renews my strength, He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

Let us go through this Psalm verse by verse and let it speak to us.  We start in verse one:

“The Lord is my Shepard and I have all that I need.”  Let us look at that word shepherd, Shepard in this context it refers to a Shepherd of sheep, there job among many are to protect, guide, and watches over the herd. In this Psalm David is referring to Jesus of course and what he is saying is that Jesus looks at us as a shepherd does his herd of sheep, that he will watch over us and protect us, he will guide us and speak to us, he also will listen to us and be walking with us and He will even go as far as to leave the herd to go and save just one as it says in Matthew 18:12

¹² “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?  ¹³ And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!

Wow! Just wow, Jesus loves us that much that He would leave the 99 to go find us.  Then when He does, He will rejoice more than the 99 He already has.  What He is saying is that Jesus loves, cares and wants every single one of us and that is why He is all we need because He is the Good Shepherd.

Okay moving on to verse 2 and it reads:

“He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.”

God gave us His word, and when we consume it on a daily basis and let Him lead us as we trust in His direction, that’s when we can feel that restful spirit upon us as it would if we were in a large field with wispy, long, green grass just blowing in a gentle breeze with the sun out and blue skies with some white clouds passing by.  It almost feels like a dream and we will be waking up soon, but I will tell you this, when we rest in Him and He in us that feeling can stay with us.  It all has to do with are we truly resting in Him?  Or are we letting the world consume us with its presence?  In David’s case, I believe He had a strong relationship with God and David knew what it meant to rest in Him, bringing him to write what he did, that feeling of bliss.

The second part of that 2^nd verse says:

“He leads me beside peaceful streams” Well I don’t know about you but walking first through a green meadow and coming up on a stream just bubbling down across some rocks and just steadily flowing with that peaceful water sound trickling down to me sounds like heaven just pure peace and David is saying that that feeling that these ideologies though seemingly out of reach are attainable through Christ our Lord because he himself was experiencing this as he dwelt in the presence of the Lord.

Are you dwelling in the presence of the Lord like David or are you letting the world dictate your direction?   All I know is this, if dwelling in the presence of the Lord will bring me such peace that I will feel like I am resting in a green pasture and being lead down along a stream, then sign me up!  Fill me Father with your spirit and help me to die to self because it’s that and that alone that will keep me from this idyllic experience.

Okay, let us keep moving onto verse 3 and it reads:

“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”

You see, on the daily, us as Christians or followers of Christ, we will get beat up while we are out wandering this world, that’s a guarantee, for Satan is waiting for us.  Turn with me if you will to 1 Peter 5:8.  It says to:

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

Just as it says in Ephesians 6:12:

^“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

So you see this is why the bible says in Luke 9:23:

“Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

This way you let Him lead and guide you and help navigate this path that’s filled with obstacles and road blocks.  It has demons just waiting for us, lurking around any corner just waiting to get at us.  This is why we must be filled daily with His word and be thinking about Him and his direction, keeping hymns and songs on our tongues

When we let Him guide us, we can be overcomers as we navigate through this world and all its ways keeping the ultimate prize at the forefront of our thoughts.  It is that, that brings honor to His name and that too will bring us that peaceful rest.

Let us move on to verse 4 as it reads:

“Even when I walk through the darkest valley I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”

What David is saying here is no matter where he goes, the Lord will be there with Him to protect Him.  That Satan has no power over him and can bring no harm to him.  The Bible says in Exodus 14:14:

“The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

And in Isaiah 54:17:

 “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper”

I mean take a look at Mark 4:35-41:

 ³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

No matter the circumstance that may surround us, Jesus is there and can take care of anything.  It all boils down to our faith and we only need the slightest bit because all you need is an amount of a mustard seed, as it says in Matthew 17:20-21:

“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” 

This faith also comes through prayer and fasting, we do this to deny our flesh and make our spirit stronger so it is in control.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

John 10:10-12   “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.  “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.   “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.”

This verse sums up verse 4 for us because, yes Jesus is the good Shepherd and will protect us because He is willing to lay His life down for us and in that there is no greater love.

On to verse 5 as it reads:

“You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil.”

Well, I’d say this is a great day, if God Himself is preparing a feast for you at His table in front of your enemies.  Then you have made it and have heard well done good and faithful servant.  Imagine that the Lord walks you out to this magnificent ballroom type setting like out of Beauty and the Beast or Downton  Abby.  The table is there being prepared by God Himself and He turns to you with a happy grin then turns to the big curtain that’s closed and gives the nod for it to be open and there sits all the negative naysayers that were ever in your life.  Those who lied about you and mocked you for your faith, they sit and watch the God of this universe personally prepare your place setting as Jesus Himself leads you to the table.  He walks up to you, gives you a hug, pulls out a flask of olive oil, and anoints your head with it.  He proceeds to pull out your chair and as you sit, He slides you in.  And all you can think to yourself is my cup overflows with blessings as you sit there weeping with joy.

I mean come on people this alone should make you want to be the best servant for Christ that you can be, seeking to do His will and dying to your own desires on a daily basis.  It truly is the narrow path we must walk to make it to this dining hall.

Okay, last of this Psalm and that’s verse 6:

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.”

This verse goes without saying, but I will say this: do the will of God, seek Him diligently, do not live in sin, and keep your mind out of this world and yes you will make it too!

The Table