Verses: Psalm 23Sample

Psalm 23:3-4
[3] He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
[4] 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.

Welcome to Day 2 of our brief journey through Psalm 23! We hope that the first two verses colored the whole of your day… We continue to explore the reality that God is our Shepherd. If the best human shepherds know their sheep in and out, how much more is that true of our Good Shepherd? Today, we’ll look at how God knows us as His sheep.

First, he restores us. He knows our places of exhaustion and exactly where we need rest. He knows avoidance, scrolling, and mindless distractions won’t suffice… He sees into the deepest, darkest crevices of our souls and has the wisdom and insight to know how to bring about restoration! Part of this restoring is an act of God re-storying our hearts around the realities of Who He is and who we are in Him. As we begin to wander and believe ludicrous things about God and ourselves, He comes to us and restores us by reminding us of the Story we’re actually in.

Second, He leads us. He also doesn’t leave us where He finds us but leads us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. This is crucial! Yes, restoration is essential, but it’s just the beginning. As we find the restoration our souls need, He also finds the paths He knows we need to be on. God’s not around for just part of our journey but all of it! Why does He do it? For His name’s sake. God’s reputation is on the line. He wants everyone to see Him for Who He actually is… Have you ever met someone who you had heard a few things about, or perhaps you didn’t have a couple of great interactions with them, but when you actually spent time with them, you were surprised because of how lovely they were? God is a perfect Shepherd and wants us to know Him for Who He is! He is the greatest gift we could ever have in the world.

Third, He accompanies us. Another way of wording this is He is a faithful companion. He doesn’t let us walk through perilous times alone. He doesn’t point out our final destination on a map and tells us He’ll meet us there at the finish line. Instead, as a companion, we can confidently know He’ll take every step alongside us. We’re told that even while David would walk through “the valley of the shadow of death,” he would fear no evil. Why? Not because he knew everything would be easy. God generally doesn’t simply evacuate us from our problems but rather walks with us through them. Are you walking through a valley season? Ask your shepherd for the eyes to see His proximity to you even though you might be experiencing His perceived absence.

Fourth, He protects and disciplines us. Along the way, our Shepherd has tools to aid us with His rod and His staff. These are signs of both His protection and His discipline. With His rod, He fights away evil predators who may assail us; with His staff, He leads and disciplines His sheep so that we would learn to stay close to Him. The motivation of His discipline is always love, not anger. We find comfort that our Shepherd’s posture in all of these things is for us. He wants to see our good and flourishing! We can trust Him.

Meditate

• Read - Read verses 3-4 a few times out loud.
• Pray - In your journal, write out verses 3-4. The intention here is to slow down with the passage and linger in it. What words or phrases jump out at you? Turn those observations into a prayer for your day. Try writing these verses in your own words.
• Sing - Listen to and/or sing Psalm 23:3-4 by Phil Maucieri below. As you can throughout your day, try to listen to the song a few times on our app or your digital streaming platform of choice. Try listening to the song from the day before as well!