“The peace of Psalm 23 is not rooted in outward circumstances or our passing emotions. The first verse of the psalm begins with an emphatic emphasis on the Lord. He alone is the source of all comfort and peace.”
Dallas Willard, in his book Life Without Lack, starts his introduction with a bang. He writes,
"The words of the Twenty-Third Psalm are among those things that people profess to believe. Many can recite the Twenty-Third Psalm from memory, including people who don't believe much of anything about God. Some have learned the psalm purely as poetic literature. But far too few have experienced in their own lives the vivid reality described by the psalmist. Unfortunately, "The Lord is my Shepherd" is a sentiment carved on tombstones more often than a reality written in lives."
Is Jesus really, truly your shepherd? I hope so. This is the beautiful grace-filled invitation of God to become one of his family provided for by the all-encompassing power of the one who created you - the shepherd of God's people. The tricky part, Willard writes, is "knowing you are now in the care of someone else, not in charge, that you've taken your kingdom and surrendered it to the kingdom of God, that you are living the with-God life." How are you doing with the ordering of your heart and mind toward the way of God. It's difficult. Oh, but it is so worth it.
One of the most significant elements of Psalm 23, the central aspect that makes this psalm so compelling, is God's ongoing presence in the life of his people. As each person attempts to live the "with-God" life, each person must fix their eyes solely on Jesus, even in the problematic "valleys of the shadow of death" one might encounter. There is so much hope found in the realization that no matter what you go through, you have a shepherd that will be right beside you every step of the way.
How have you fixed your hope on God in these difficult days? What activities or actions keep your heart and mind grounded in the grace offered to you through God's presence. We are currently living through a season where anger, depression, anxiety, and desperation are increasing. These things run deep in ordinary human life and can cause us to lash out and provoke one another. Willard writes, "This fury and dispair flow from...hopelessness." But Psalm 23 offers us a different perspective:
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want. . .
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me.
Psalm 23:1,4
There is every reason for hope if we stop looking primarily at ourselves and instead look at God; recognizing he is with us makes all the difference. Willard again writes,
"The gospel that Jesus himself proclaimed, manifested, and taught was about more than his death for the forgiveness of our sins, as important as that is. It was about the kingdom of God—God's immediate availability, his "with-us-ness" that makes a life without lack possible. There is so much more to our relationship with God than just his dealing with our guilt and sin. Once we have been forgiven, we are meant to live in the fullness of the life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10)."
Stretch yourself this week. In prayer, identify one circumstance, attitude, relationship, etc., that you've been holding tightly. Perhaps you've been trying to maintain control, or you are afraid of some pain or heartbreak; take one thing that feels difficult and out of your control and hold that open-handed, open-hearted to God. Use Psalm 23 as a prayer prompt and guide as you process with God:
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want. . .
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me.
Psalm 23:1,4