Have you said any of these statements?
- I can’t take it anymore
- I give up
- I am weary
- I’m tired
- Trusting Jesus is to hard
- Jesus won’t answer my prayers
- I’m to stressed to trust Jesus
- I’m to busy for Jesus
- Jesus doesn’t care about me
- If Jesus loved me He would not allow this pain
- Where can we find peace
- Does peace even exist
- How can we trust Jesus to give us peace
- What does the Holy Bible say about peace
Take comfort in knowing
that the Holy Spirit lead you here
to get answers and to find His perfect peace.
That’s how much He loves you!
What is God saying in the 23rd Psalm?
Believe it or not, here He answers all your above questions, and prepares you to go deeper in relationship with Him. You will learn:
- How to understand the 23rd Psalm
- How it applies to your life today
- Why it’s important to memorize this passage and pray it everyday
Find answers to all your questions
Discover how to be free from anxiety, fear, depression, and worry.
Learn of the blessings He has waiting for those who choose
to wholeheartedly follow Him in all ways.
Today we are going to visit the 23rd Psalm and see how God answers all of these statements and questions. Everything you need to know is hidden in this passage of six simple verses. Let’s dig deeper and see what God has for us. Find hope here.
The 23rd Psalm
The Lord Is My Shepherd
Let’s park here and break it down…
Verse 1
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- The Lord is my shepherd.
- Jesus is our shepherd
- We are His sheep
- Sheep are very loyal, they listen only to the voice of their shepherd
- As His sheep, we should listen to no other voice than His
- He leaves the 99 to follow the 1
- He is very protective of His sheep
- He loves His sheep unconditionally
- There is an unbreakable bond between Jesus and his true wholehearted followers
- I shall not want
- Sheep with a loving loyal Shepherd never worry
- Jesus cares for and provides for His sheep
- His sheep are dependent on His care and protection
- His sheep are defenseless without His protection
- Any needs His sheep have, He provides
- In a loyal relationship like this there is never any need to worry about needs being met
- Jesus provides all we need
- True followers of Jesus know this level of love and live in continual peace
“27 My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life;
and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me,
is greater than all;
and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
John 10:27-29
Verse 2
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
- He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
- Why?
- Pastures are peaceful
- What do you think of when you drive by a rolling pasture?
- Beautiful
- Peaceful
- Imagining what it must be like to live on that land
- When you see a cow laying down in the pasture
- It is at peace
- Enjoying the rest
- The sunshine
- No worries
- Wishing you could be at peace like that
- Jesus wants you to follow Him into that pasture of peace
- Most tend to only consider going into the pasture of peace when they have been broken and humbled by their circumstances and pain. They can no longer continue in their own strength, and then turn to Him for help.
- He invites us to:
- Lie down
- Rest
- Relax
- Give Him our worries
- Rest in His Peace
- Trusting Jesus
- To wash away your stress and worries
- Letting go of the world and its ways
- Shutting out the lies that fill your thoughts
- Resting in His arms
- Resting in His peace
- Be still and know (Psalm 46:10)
- Allowing Him to care for you
- Allowing Him to fight your battles
- Allowing Him to heal you
- Learning to trust Him in all ways
- Staying in the mindset of the Pasture of Peace
- Why?
- He leadeth me beside the still waters.
- Why?
- In this Pasture of Peace
- While resting in His presence
- Learning to trust Him to care for you
- Learning to trust Him to heal your heart
- He leads you beside the still waters
- Imagine a babbling brook in this beautiful pasture
- Jesus takes your hand in this peaceful place and leads you to walk with Him beside the still waters that sing of peace when you listen closely
- Still learning to
- Let go of the world
- Let go of the stresses in your life
- Trust Him only
- Keep your eyes on Him, not allowing anything to move your fixed gaze on Him
- Walking in complete peace while holding His hand and trusting Him with your heart and soul while He heals you from the inside out.
- In this Pasture of Peace
- Why?
Verse 3
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
- He restoreth my soul
- God invites and leads you to the pasture of peace
- He invites you to rest there
- To let go of everything and focus only on Him
- He leads you beside the still calm waters that wash away your stress, doubt, guilt, fears, and anxieties
- Then washes you with His peace
- Then fills you with His living water so that you never thirst again
- You begin to heal
- In this place of indescribable peace and trust
- He restores your soul
- He feeds it with His love
- He teaches you to trust Him
- All your worries melt away
- He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
- Why?
- In this place of peace, healing, restoration and trust
- He begins to lead you to follow Him
- Down the path of righteousness
- The path of peace
- The path of obedience
- The path of hope
- The path of continued healing
- The path of pruning and refining
- The path of humility
- The path to discovering your identity in Him
- The path to your purpose that He created you for
- The path to grow deeper in relationship with Him
- The path to learn all He has in store for you
- The path of suffering for Jesus
- Being persecuted for your faith
- But walking in confidence with Jesus
- As you lose relationships
- As He removes people from your life
- As He continues to teach you to keep your eyes on Him
- As you share His Good News Gospel
- So that others can find the peace you have found in Him
- In this place of peace, healing, restoration and trust
- Why?
Verse 4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
- Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me
- What? Why?
-
- Why do I have to walk through the dark valley?
- We live in a broken and fallen world
- In this broken sinful world, bad things happen
- Loss is a big part of everyday life
- God allows and uses these moments to:
- Teach us
- Stretch our faith
- Build our testimony
- To give us continual opportunities to choose Him
- To keep us close to Him
- To keep us walking with Him
- To have a deep relationship with Him
- You can’t go ”around” the valley of the shadow of death
- We must all go through it
- We will go through it often
- Learn to trust Him in these moments
- Embrace the purpose in the valley
- Welcome the lessons learned here
- Enjoy your one-on-one time with your loving Heavenly Father
- Trust His process
- There’s purpose in your pain
- Why do I have to walk through the dark valley?
- Will you choose Him in these moments or try to forge through on your own?
-
- He is also warning us that we will walk through these moments in life
- He is giving us the opportunity to walk in these moments with the peace and trust that He taught us in the Pasture of Peace
- In these moments He is giving us a choice to choose Him
- These moments build our character and our testimony
- In these moments, we can walk with confidence with His perfect peace knowing that He is with us
- We do NOT have to fear
- No matter what our circumstances are, He is with us, so we don’t have to fear anything
- We don’t have to listen to the lies
- We will feel the pain from the battle in the valley, but He holds us up with His righteous right hand as He walks through this valley with us. (Isaiah 41:10)
- He is promising and reminding us that we are not alone
- He is with us!
- We are never alone! (Matthew 28:20)
- He has prepared us to walk through our valley with our heads held high as we cling to His hand and allow Him to walk with us through our circumstances
- We no longer have to “try” to fight our battles in our own strength
- We no longer have to listen to the lies that
-
- He does not care
- We have sinned to much to be forgiven
- He only cares about our soul, not our daily battles
- HE IS WITH US!!!
-
- He is with us!
- We do NOT have to fear
- What? Why?
- Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me
- What? Why?
- What does this mean?
- How can His rod and staff doing anything for me?
- Remember Moses whom God sent to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt?
- God gave Him a staff to take and use
- That rod and staff helped Him navigate through the wilderness
- It was used to perform many miracles
- Miracles in Egypt
- Miracles after Egypt
- It was used to part the Red Sea
- Why? How?
- It represented the Power of the Almighty God
- Remember Moses whom God sent to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt?
- When God says my rod and staff will comfort you, that rod has His mighty power
- It will comfort you in the midst of your circumstances
- It will comfort you as you walk with Him through your dark valley
- Take comfort knowing that if He promises here that it will comfort you, IT WILL!
- What? Why?
Verse 5
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
- Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
- What? Why?
- Why can’t He remove my enemies?
- Why can’t He remove me from my enemies?
- Because He loves you
- Because we live in a broken and fallen world
- Because it’s in these moments that He wants us to cling to Him
- Because He wants us to turn to Him
- Because He is testing us to trust Him
- He prepares a table for you with Him
- You are not alone at this table
- He is with you in your circumstances
- He is very aware of what is going on in your life
- He is allowing this valley for a reason
- For those who found His peace in the pasture
- They can sit calmly at the table with Him
- They keep their eyes on Him
- They ignore the enemy swirling around them
- They are able to rest in His promises
- They believe that He will handle everything that comes their way from the enemy
- They are looking for the lessons in the circumstance
- They aren’t afraid of the pain because they know He is with them
- Teaching them
- Protecting them
- Pruning them
- Refining them in the fire
- They believe that He has a purpose for them in the valley
- They believe He will walk with them through it
- They do not try to pitch a tent in this valley
- They follow Him through it to the other side
- They trust Him completely
- What? Why?
- Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
- Thou anointest my head with oil
- What? Why?
- Visualize here – God pouring a big bowl of golden honey over your head – that runs all the way down your body
- This oil represents His love and protection
- He pours this oil over you while you are in the presence of your enemies – marking you as His and nothing can penetrate His protection
- Nothing can happen that He doesn’t allow
- What He allows you to experience in this valley is under His complete control and He has a purpose for it in your life to teach you
- What? Why?
- My cup runneth over
- What? Why?
- Imagine holding a coffee cup
- It’s empty
- In the presence of your enemies sitting at the table with Him
- The enemy and his lies are swirling all around you
- God anoints your head with oil
- Then He fills your cup to overflowing
- With what?
- With abundant blessings
- As you keep your eyes on Him
- As you trust Him wholeheartedly
- He fills your cup to overflowing with His blessings for your obedience as you weather this storm with Him
- With abundant blessings
- This cup is filled with His peace
- Don’t put it down
- Don’t let it go
- Don’t allow anyone to take it away from you
- Don’t allow the enemy to steal your joy and the peace that God is sharing with you in this valley – at this table
- In the presence of your enemies sitting at the table with Him
- What? Why?
- Thou anointest my head with oil
Verse 6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
- What does this mean?
- Because of your choice to follow Jesus
- Trusting Him
- Obeying Him
- Following Him in all His ways
- Clinging to His hand – not letting go
- Choosing to fix your eyes on Him
- He is blessing you with His goodness and His mercy for the rest of your days
- Not all get this
- Only those who choose Him
- This does not mean life will be easy
- It means that He will continue to be with you and bless you while you keep your eyes on Him clinging to His hand – never letting go
- Because of your choice to follow Jesus
- What does this mean?
- And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
- Why?
- As a reward for your obedience to Jesus and your Creator, God, who breathed life into you
- Choosing them over the world
- Ignoring the lust of your flesh to follow the world
- Choosing to be persecuted for your faith
- He is rewarding you by inviting you to spend eternity with Him in Heaven!
- As a reward for your obedience to Jesus and your Creator, God, who breathed life into you
- Why?
WHAT A BLESSING AND A GIFT!!!
Meditating on God’s Holy Word
Now, how is that for a breakdown of scripture? This is a great example of meditating on God’s Word. When we pause to study scripture, instead of racing through it to check our daily Bible reading off our to-do list, the Holy Spirit will speak to us and teach us things we did now know (Jeremiah 33:3). No one realizes what they are missing by not reading their Holy Bible, or by racing through it reading bits and pieces of popular passages.
This chapter in Psalms is not unique to these hidden messages. All scripture is God breathed and used for teaching (2Timothy 3:16-17). When we take our time and study at the pace the Holy Spirit sets for us, we discover so many hidden secrets there for those who wholeheartedly follow Jesus and want to know everything He wants to teach them.
Remember Jesus always spoke in parables during His ministry. He did that intentionally and for good reason. He was not going to share truth with the wicked that didn’t want to know the truth but were looking to trip Him up in a lie and have cause to crucify Him. Those who truly believed in Jesus and walked in faith following Him, He revealed the meaning of His cryptic messages. It’s still the same for us today. Those who wholeheartedly follow Jesus, that believe and walk in faith following Him at any cost, He has His Holy Spirit reveal the hidden messages in His Holy Word from the Old and the New Testaments, cover to cover, Genesis to Revelation. His Holy Living Word speaks to us today with relevant messages to apply to our lives.
God’s entire message is summarized in the 23rd Psalm, with only six verses. It’s up to us to look for and see His truth. This Psalm is not unique to this hidden message theme of God’s. If you take the time to study and ask the Holy Spirit to show you, your mind will be blown in ways you could not imagine; these discoveries will cause you to feel so loved by Him as He reveals these secrets to you. As an example, in the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God for all of His followers (Exodus 20), He will show you that all of His laws and commands for us, that Jesus came to teach us, are all summarized in those ten commands. The first four commands are about our Creator and what He wants with us, then the last six are what He expects from us in our walk through life. That’s a story for another day; just wanted you to see how amazing the Holy Bible is.
Walking in a peaceful state of mind
Now that you have learned from this Psalm the peace that God has waiting for you in the green pasture and how to carry that mindset of His peace into your valley as you walk along with Him and sit with Him in the presence of your enemies keeping this peaceful mindset, you are well on your way on the path to righteousness and His eternal reward for you.
Guard this gift from Him and don’t allow the enemy to take it away from you. The enemy doesn’t want you to know about this peace or to walk in it, so the attacks will come. Not to worry, Jesus is with at your table. Keep your eyes on Him. Remember the oil of His protection poured over you and your cup is overflowing with His blessings – while at this table in the prescience of your enemies. That is very important to remember. The enemy wants to distract you from looking at Jesus. He wants you to forget about the coverage of protection and the blessings for keeping your eyes on Jesus.
DON’T ALLOW THE ENEMY
TO DISTRACT YOU FROM JESUS
No matter how dark or how bad your circumstances are, keep your eyes on Jesus. Even if you are already in this valley before you have learned about the Pasture of Peace, it’s not to late. Get alone with God in your secret place, wherever that is and let Him speak to you. Study this passage. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you find this peace. Trust His process, and His timing. Don’t be in a rush to learn the lessons here. As you are trying to focus on this lesson in this Psalm, the enemy will try to pull you of that secret place with attacks from those in the valley tormenting you. Recognize his attempts and rebuke.
Keep your eyes on Jesus!
Where to start
Are you overwhelmed by your circumstances? Are you paralyzed with fear? Are you numb from the pain? Don’t know where to start?
Pray. Always pray. God is right there with you.
Breathe His name; Jesus.
Don’t know what to pray?
Keep it simple.
“Jesus, please help me. Please show me what to do.”
Even if your mind is blank and you are so weary from the fight in the valley that you think you don’t have the strength to trust and follow Jesus into the Pasture of Peace. All you have to do is ask Him for help. He will pick you up and place you in the pasture. You can lay there and rest while He comforts and restores your soul.
The days of you doing life and fighting your battles on your own until you are depleted of all strength and can’t cry anymore are over. There’s a new game in town! New rules. New leader. You have chosen to follow Jesus and nothing else matters.
Once you catch your breath, start praying this prayer everyday. Plan to memorize it. This is another example of lots of power packed in a small passage. There is power is saying these words. A lesson for another day. For now, pray and memorize.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13
Welcome to the Pasture of Peace.
Follow His path of righteousness right into Heaven.
I’ll see you there.
God bless you.
To learn more about Jesus and make sure you heart is right with Him, visit this link for more information: https://chosencrowned.one/good-news/