Dear Members and Friends of IBCZ,
Last Sunday we concluded our study of Psalm 23. Throughout our study of Psalm 23, we’ve been comforted with the fact that God is not a remote, distant, inaccessible God who leaves us to manage our lives on our own while He manages the universe. No, God is wonderfully accessible and is intimately involved in our lives.
David affirmed (paraphrasing Ps. 23), “The Lord is my Shepherd. He leads me to places of rest and renewal. He guides me along the right paths. He is with me even in the darkest valley, where He offers me protection. He extends lavish hospitality to me. He tends to my most pressing needs. He pours out His goodness on me, and one day He will welcome me into His home for eternity.” What an amazing Shepherd we have!
Just imagine, some 3,000 years have passed since David penned the words to the 23rd Psalm. Think of all the kingdoms that have risen, seemed invincible for a time, only to fall into obscurity. Think of all the leaders who ruled briefly but now are but footnotes on the pages of history. Yet through it all, the words of this psalm have remained, and they have remained true. They speak just as much truth and comfort and assurance and revelation to us today as they did to David’s original listeners.
The late Haddon Robinson observed regarding Ps. 23:
“These words are among the first that many of us learned as children, and they are often among the last that we whisper in the final dark hours of life, as we look forward to the daybreak of heaven. We speak these words to the dying and repeat them to the grieving who are left behind. The sufferer in the hospital room, the soldier at his lonely post, the immigrant in a strange land, the man and woman burdened down with iron cares – all have found in this psalm strength for their weakness and a lullaby for their fears.
What an amazing gift God has given us through these words of David we know as Psalm 23. David affirmed that his cup overflowed, and that is true for all of us when we know the Lord as our Shepherd. Our cup overflows with the countless blessings He pours into our lives – His provision, His guidance, His refreshment, His mercy, His presence, His protection. And then our cup overflows with joy and gratitude to our Good Shepherd for His abundant care.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Bob