Psalms 23:1-3 ESV
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.”
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is also God,
the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is my shepherd.
He is the one who leads me and guides me in the way that I should go. He
teaches me the right way for me. He helps me when I am weak. He strengthens me
when my strength is gone. And he leads me away from paths which are not right
for me, and he counsels me in the right way.
He provides me with everything that I need to do his will.
He may not supply me with everything I might like to have, but he knows what I
truly need, and he does supply my needs. And when I am following the Lord Jesus
and his leading in my life, he gives me his peace, even in the midst of turmoil.
I can trust him even when things outwardly may not seem to be going so well. And
he satisfies me with himself and with the teachings from his word.
Psalms 23:4 ESV
“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.”
I have been sick for 15 days now. The coughing is the worst,
I think, and then comes the stomach discomfort, though sometimes the stomach
pain surpasses the coughing. And honestly there have been days when I was not
certain I was going to live through this, and I am still not sure about that
one. But God is in control. The Lord Jesus has allowed this in my life for a
purpose. And so I am putting my absolute faith and trust in the Lord.
I know that my Lord is absolutely sovereign over all that he
has created, and he doesn’t make mistakes, so there is a reason he is allowing
me to suffer in this way right now. I am believing him for healing, but the
healing has not yet fully come. So even though I am in pain, and I am
suffering, I trust him with my life, and I am not afraid of what the future
holds for me. I cry sometimes when the pain is bad, but I have to keep yielding
my life to his control, trusting him that he is accomplishing his purposes
through it all.
Psalms 23:5-6 ESV
“You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.”
If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives
wholeheartedly, we are going to have enemies. We are going to have people who
will despise us and who will want nothing to do with us, and even some or all of
them could also be professers of faith in Jesus Christ. And this is because our
main enemy is Satan and he doesn’t like it when we follow Jesus Christ in obedience,
and especially if we are spreading the truth of the gospel and if we are
exposing the lies of Satan for what they are.
But how other people perceive us or how they treat us doesn’t
have to determine who we are or what we become. We can overcome our enemies’
attacks against our character by the grace of God, and we can continue to be
who God called us to be, despite all rejection and mistreatment from others.
And I see this as one way in which the Lord prepares a table before me in the
presence of my enemies, when he assigns me tasks to do, and when he uses me in
other people’s lives despite all opposition I might face.
Where other humans have discarded me because I do not fit
with their culture or with their social model or with their traditions,
including within the walls of the institutional church, the Lord has received
me, and he is using me to share his gospel and to expose and to refute the lies
of the enemy. Actually, it was largely the rejections I faced in the institutional
church that the Lord used to convince me to go on the internet to share his
teachings.
Where other humans may fail us, and where they may reject
and discard us as not worth their time, if we are willing to be used by the
Lord wherever he leads us, he will bless us, and he will use us, even sometimes
in the face of our enemies. He will anoint us for his ministry, and he will
fill our lives with good things from above. And he will comfort us with his
love and mercy throughout our days we have left on this earth. And all glory
goes to God.
[Matt 5:10-16; Matt 10:16-25;
Matt 24:9-14; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19;
John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Acts 1:8; Acts 14:22; Acts 26:18; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 1:3-11; Eph
4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Phil 3:7-11; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Heb 3:13;
Heb 12:3-12; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Pet 4:12-17]
By
Annie Herring
There's a stirring deep within me
Could it be my time has come
When I'll see my gracious savior face to face when all is done
Is that his voice I am hearing?
'Come away, my precious one'
Is he calling me?
Is he calling me?
I will rise up, rise up
And bow down
And lay my crown
At his wounded feet
Is that His voice I am hearing?
'Come away, my precious one'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yocTjkB6hV8
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