Psalm 23: 3 – 6 NLT
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the LORD
forever.
“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” Isn’t that a wonderful promise? Those prayers we say when we are concerned about decisions we need to make, when we are going through a difficult time, when we are trying to figure out the best way to serve God … God answers. He gives us enough strength to do whatever he wants us to do. AND, he guides us to take the “right path”.
It can be difficult to figure out God’s plans for our lives. God gave us amazing brains, and we think about so much. And it is wise to think carefully about decisions we have to make. When I look back over my life, I can’t remember a time when I was sincerely praying for God’s guidance that it resulted in a disaster. I can think of decisions I made when I figured it out on my own without praying at all when it didn’t go that well. I remember some times when I was praying for his guidance and a strange and unexpected result came. I prayed for a job when we realized I needed to get back to work because of my husband’s serious illness. God guided me into a job I wasn’t looking for at all, that I wouldn’t even have considered, and it turned out to be the best one of my life.
“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” Verse 4 is a well-known verse in this psalm. It could be referring to the time just before death when a person realizes life is coming to an end. Or it could refer to a time in life which is so difficult, it feels like life is coming to an end. Either way, this talks about desperate times in our lives. Knowing that God is close beside us when life is very hard is calming. We live in a broken world, and horrific things happen. For example, I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in Israel/Gaza or the Ukraine right now. When you see your home bombed to pieces or your family members and friends killed, how do you cope? When your husband kisses you goodbye and sends you and your children to a safer place leaving him in danger? Yet, God reassures us that he is close beside us.
The six years since my husband died have reassured me that God’s promise is true. We had a great marriage for almost 50 years, and I still think of him in some way every day. But God gave me a year after his death that was smooth with so many friends checking up on me frequently. He gave me the impetus to start writing these devotions, something I had thought about for years. He then gave me a year of wild events – a flood in my basement where my daughter and granddaughter live with a reconstruction crew that were amazing and kind. Then heart surgery in London to correct a heart condition I wasn’t aware I had – discovering that condition was a gift from God. Then the pandemic and all the lockdowns. But the amazing thing in these past years is a calm and peace I’ve never experienced before. “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.” There is another fantastic promise! God’s love surrounds me! God actually pursues me – he notices when I’m drifting away and comes after me. God does that for my entire life. He never stops. And then … I will be with him forever.
If you’re finding life hard right now, take the time to reflect on his promises. He cares for you. He will renew your strength and guide you in all the areas of your life. Take some time to reflect on that today – and every day.
Our song for today is Give Me Your Peace by Gateway Music.