Psalms 23
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 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.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 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.
This psalm is not only my favorite psalm but also the favorite of millions of Christians.
However, after reading it this morning for the hundredth time, something new appeared to me. Try reading it a few times in a row and see if it jumps out at you as well. Now I can’t help but notice the psalm is all about David being comforted by what God does for him.
God provides for him so that he lacks nothing. He guides him to places to restore his soul. He protects him in his darkest moments. He protects him in the presence of his enemies. He blesses him until his cup overflows. He even gives him a place to live with Him forever in His kingdom.
Wow!! What a God we have. But did you sense something missing? This time when I read it, something jumped out at me! You see, when I have read this psalm over and over again throughout the years, I always read it to receive comfort. Now when I read it, I find myself asking why is God doing all this? For the first time, I read this not from David’s perspective but from God’s.
The obvious answer is that God provides as He did because He loved David and He loves us like any parent would love their child and want to comfort them. But why do parents comfort their children? Just so they can be at peace? After they comfort them, do they then say ok now, get up and go? Go play, go back to the relationship, go back to work, go back into living your life, go and share this with others? God also wishes for us to go. He wants us to be comforted so that we will comfort others.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise to the God of All Comfort
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
You see, the psalm isn’t just about David after all. It’s about God’s desire that we love one another and be there for each other as He is there for us. To receive God’s comfort and not share it would make this psalm one of selfishness. To read this psalm and see that once David was comforted, he would feel confident, encouraged, and strengthened to go back out in the world, makes this psalm one of great anticipation. I can hear God saying to David, “Son, now that you are okay, go in peace and make a difference in this world.” David looks back at God with heartfelt love for his father and gives Him a thumbs up and walks away.
Just a Thought…
