God is with Us
Psalm 23, a prayer from the Old Testament, demonstrates how our lives as Christians are meant to be lived.
The opening line, “the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” is a metaphor for our lives represented by a flock of sheep. We are the ‘sheep’ of God and He is our shepherd. ‘I shall not want’ means exactly as it sounds; we will never want anything else while under God’s love and care.
In verse 3, it says, “He leads me in paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake”. There are times where we have to do something righteous but don’t know why we should. In this part of the prayer, we are reminded that the righteous things we do are for God’s sake only. Next time you have to do something righteous, do it for ‘his name’s sake’.
Sometimes in life, there will be times where it seems as though God has forgotten about us. We have all been there. Verse 4 reads, “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.” Psalm 23:4 is my favourite passage in the bible so far. It explains to us that even in our hard times or in the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ God is with us and we will be ok. Picture yourself in the shadow of death; a time in your life where you feel defeated. God wants you to fear no evil and be strong. As Christians, we must follow God and He will guide us.
Dear God, you are my shepherd that teaches me how I should live and you promise eternal life. I recognize that sometimes I am faced with the valley of the shadow of death. Please hold my hand as I walk through it. Amen.
Dylan Bowles