Skip to main content

Psalm 23.........

Over the last couple of days I have struggled. Tonight I have once again come to the conclusion that it is fine to struggle, every Christian struggles and what I need to do now is cling onto God's promises and faithfulness.

When in hospital this week a wonderful friend gave me some different copies of Psalm 23. This Psalm has meant so much to me for as long as I can remember, dating back to even before I was a Christian. The song makes me cry every time; and the scripture stirs so much within me every time I read it.

Then when reading a book today entitled 'Pieces of Glass' by Sarah Kay it mentioned some things on this scripture. It says how God has never promised that we will not face evil or death, God never said we would have an easy ride, actually this psalm verifies the inevitability of the trouble we will indeed face. Nevertheless the verses on death and suffering are not the final chapter of verse of this psalm nor our experiences.

"See death is tucked between two great promises. The Psalm begins with God's gentleness to nurture and discipline, promised in the first few verses. That's followed by testament to His unwavering presence and guiding strength in times of great pain. But the final words remind us that in the end, our cup will again overflow with goodness".

This is what I firmly cling hold of tight; tonight and always.


The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
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.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely 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


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Youth.......

Tonight the youth led their first service. The theme was 'footprints in the sand' inspired by the Leona Lewis song as well as the moving and famous poem . The youth did everything. Choose all the content; the worships songs, the prayers, the drama, everything. They made up the worship band, they did the visuals, the sound, the welcome, they recorded it, and they wrote the preach and prayers. They were all fantastic. They spoke about God never leaving us, through the hard times or the easy, the good times or the bad. They spoke to us about how God never gives us more than what we can handle, even though it may feel like that sometimes! Every single one of them aged between 11-15 were amazing. I have increasingly been scared for the youth of today. They live in such a broken world where underage drinking , teenage murders , teenage murderers , and teenage suicide to name but a few, are increasing at an alarming rate. Tonight each young person there was making their stand. Don...

Christmas is approaching........

Today we put up the church Christmas decorations which was so comical, we had such a giggle and really enjoyed ourselves. It wasn't until I got home that it sank in - it is almost Christmas. Can you believe that we are already in December? Chris and I led our last youth cell till 2008 this evening and it was hilarious with the kids. They are just the greatest bunch of young people anyway, but playing games such as twister with them was just side splitting! Talking to them about Christmas and this time of year was just so thought provoking, they say what the usual teenagers say (actually what the majority of people say!) how they're looking forward to the food, presents and dressing up, on the other hand just simple comments like 'I am looking forward to the carol service', 'I am looking forward to spending time with my family' and 'I am looking forward to spending time away from the commercial Christmas' (how huge is that for a 13 year old to say!!!) Com...

Running on Empty.........

It's not fun to run out of gas. Have you every run out of gas? Not your car - you. I have. The gauge I was looking at in my life clearly read full, but I still found myself stranded on the side of life's road. The gauge I was using - the world - was flawed, but I didn't realize it until my tank was empty and I was going nowhere. If we judge whether or not our lives are "full" based on the world's standards, we are destined to run out of gas.... ...Just because we are busy doesn't mean that we are alive. Just because the world says are lives are full doesn't mean that our lives really are full. Our lives are not full simply because we are working hard, playing hard and living hard. When we try to fill our lives with the fuel of this world, we find ourselves running on empty. The gospel of John records that Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10). In other words, Christ said that He wants us the h...