The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
                He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads be beside quiet waters,
                he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
                for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
                through the darkest valley,
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 your 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

What is the road you are travelling on?

As he writes this psalm, David’s life is like a windy, up and down road. But even when he’s in the midst of his enemies, even when he’s in the darkest valleys of life, he does not lose his trust in the Lord.

Why is that? How can he trust in God when things aren’t going well?

Firstly David knows who’s leading him. The Lord, the Creator, the loving Heavenly Father is the leading David along his road. He leads by taking David along by still waters and green pastures. They are places of rest and nourishment for him. God guides him along the right paths so that people will see how he is such a caring God. And even though he will lead David through hard times, God will not abandon him to travel it alone. He will walk beside him and lead him out of that darkest valley.

Secondly David knows where he’s going. He’s looking ahead to a time when he will be in comfort while those who despise him are not. He knows that as he travels ahead, God’s amazing goodness will continue to follow him all the days of his life on earth. And one day, at the end of the road, he will reach his destination. He will be with God, in his house, in perfect community forever.

What does this mean for us here today?

We are just as able to sing this song as David. Firstly, God is still leading us. When Jesus ascended into heaven he sent the Holy Spirit, who would guide us through life. Secondly, we also know where we are going. Because of Jesus’ death for us, we will be able to spend eternal life with him forever. Jesus even speaks about it being a feast where the weak eat all they can while those who reject his invitation of life will be on the outside.

This psalm is one that we can delight in because of Jesus. We can be comforted, even when our road is hard, that he is with by the Spirit and because we that he is leading us towards heaven and eternal life with him.

Grow Deeper

Read Genesis 2.

Yesterday we saw how God created the world, our home, from nothing. It shows us how we were to relate to God.

In Genesis 2 we’re zooming in to see our old home, in the Garden of Eden . What do we learn about it? What do we learn about how we related to God, each other and creation in our old home?

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for being a loving and good God. At every moment of the day you are watching and leading me. There is nothing that happens in my life that you are unaware of or that you do not plan for my good.

I am sorry that I try to forge my own road away from you. I am sorry for the times when I doubt your goodness. Instead I let the bad situations of life cloud my vision of your goodness.

I pray that I would be able to trust you more and more as you lead me along this road through life. I pray that despite the hard parts of life I would remember your goodness shown to me in Jesus. I pray that I would remember the eternal home that you are leading me toward and influence my life for you.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.