You Are With Me

Happy November!  Today’s post will be a second part to the post I wrote almost two weeks ago. If you haven’t read it, please make sure to before beginning this one! 

Psalm 3:3b says “He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” We are reminded in this scripture that He truly does lead us - every single day. He promises to lead us in the paths of righteousness for His glory. God desires for each of us to live holy lives, however he does not expect us to do it on our own strength.

 Someone wise once said, “The sheep didn’t need to know where the green pastures or still waters were: all he needed to know was where the shepherd was.” It is truly a comfort to know that the Good Shepherd will be with us, even until the ends of the earth.. Since he designed us, we can be confident that He will lead us on the right path.

 In His sovereign power, he has created us with a desire to follow his plan. However Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” This Scripture warns us that we will be tempted to wander from God’s plan. So often we try to rush ahead at full speed, instead of following our Shepherd. When we allow him to direct our lives, he is able to set us on the path towards Heaven.

Psalm 23:4 says “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.”  While this life is full of joy, it is also mingled with pain  and sorrow. In this verse, David shifts from talking about God to talking with God. Even in the midst of sorrow, we can turn to the One who is in control.

 As humans, we tend to love the mountaintops and despise the valleys. However, David reminds us that we do not have to fear the valleys, for He is with us. Our world is full of evil, but with our great God we should not be afraid. Our God is able to calm every fear with His presence. 

A good shepherd uses his rod to scare away enemies, to count the sheep, and to examine each one. In the exact same way, God is fighting off our enemies while searching our hearts. While God is concerned about our opposers, he is just as concerned about what we have let take residence in our hearts. God is faithful to convict and challenge us.  He does this to remind us that we are His.

 Our Good Shepherd will do his best to draw us back to Himself with His staff. He promises us that he will protect us from the dangers of this world. Through the Holy Spirit, God is able to direct us through the valley of the shadow. 

Psalm 23:5 says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over..” The presence of our Almighty God brings us joy and peace in the hardest seasons of our lives. Our Shepherd prepares a table for us. He goes to great lengths to prepare a banquet for us. God prepares a place of restoration and rejoicing for His children that He loves so dearly. The next part is a bit of a whirlwind - it says, “in the presence of mine enemies.” 

This implies that God has not made our enemies (or perhaps our difficult circumstances) disappear. God reveals to us that He is big enough to allow us to find rest in the presence of those that are our adversaries. He wants to show us to base our foundation of joy in Him, not our circumstances. Once we have done this, He pours out his blessings upon us. We know that God is greater than anything that we face, so we can have joy no matter what may come our way. 

This last verse says, “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.”  David is looking back over his life and realizing that God has already been so merciful and good that there is no possible way that he would ever fail Him in the future. The same is true in each of our lives today. 

We can acknowledge that even the things that felt so wrong were actually what helped me to grow the most. The darkest days of our lives are still overcome by the bright light of God’s goodness and steadfast love for me. His love will not let us go. He only asks that we will have the faith to trust that he will work everything together for good.

May everyday of our lives be an outpouring of God’s grace.