1st May 2023
A meditation on Psalm 23.
1The risen Jesus is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
There are many things that we think we need, but what if Jesus really is everything we need? What would life look like then?
2He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3He restores my soul.
Stop. Rest a moment. Where are you picturing yourself in your imagination? For me, it is a childhood memory beside the River Bollin near Macclesfield.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Sometimes our path through life is good; sometimes it is shadows and darkness. But Jesus has gone there before us. He leads us through both light and dark.
I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
“Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration,” as one of my favourite novels puts it. But walking with Jesus dispels our fear. He has known fear and helplessness. Remember the cross.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
We pray for those whose enemies are actually waiting outside their door today.
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
The Kingdom of God is a land of blessing and goodness and mercy and joy. May his Kingdom come, may his will be done on earth.
(Scripture quotations from the ESV, modified).
Ian Waddington