Tag Archives: God’s Provisions

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Protection and provisions: Exploring the beauty of Psalm 23

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Old-NewMany Christians lean on Psalm 23, and for good reason. One of the most popular passages of Scripture in the Bible, it shows God’s leadership, His protection, His provisions, and His blessings. While we often recite this Psalm, many fail to see the depth of it. Let’s examine it verse by verse and witness just how beautiful and encouraging this passage of Scripture is.

Psalms 23:1 – “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want”

Immediately, we see that God is a provider. However, this verse doesn’t tell us that we won’t or shouldn’t have any desires. God has promised to give us the desires of our heart, as long as they don’t collide with His will. Instead, this verse reminds us that when God is our guide, we will have all that we need. Not only does a good shepherd care for and provide for his sheep, he’s even willing to risk his life. When we consider the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, we see just how much God loves us (His sheep).

Psalms 23:2 – “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters”

Look at where God leads us to rest (lie down): green pastures and still waters. Consider those green pastures, as opposed to desert places or a wasteland. Green pastures is representative of fertility. It is representative of life! If the place where God led you wasn’t healthy, the grass would be dying. We often focus too much on our wilderness experiences without considering the places that God wants to lead us to.

And what do we think of when we sit down by still waters? We think calm. We think peace. When we consider the fertile ground and the still waters, we see that God wants to calm all of the raging waters of our life and bring us to a place of peace and growth!

Psalms 23:3 – “He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake”

The restoration of the soul is key. Consider what it’s like for us when it seems as if everything is weighing us down. Consider what it’s like when we feel like giving up. It is God that comes to our rescue and uplifts us. When the world is beating us down, only God can restore us.

Like the good shepherd that He is, God will only lead us in the right way, to the right destination. As we toil in life looking for the right path on our own, God is willing to lead us there as long as we’re willing to follow Him. We must remember that sheep aren’t the most intelligent animals, and they often wander off on their own, getting into dangerous situations. Following our Shepherd will help to avoid such things. When we’re going through struggles in life and every path seems to lead to hurt and disappointment, we must remember that such things are not of God and are not His plan for our lives. He wants greater for us. We must follow the Shepherd.

“For His name’s sake” reminds us of the promises of God. He makes good on what He said because He has a reputation to uphold as a loving and kind God that takes care of His children. God has repeatedly said in His Word that He would never leave nor forsake us. He keeps His word, but not just to impress us, but to show exactly who He is.

Psalms 23:4 – “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”

God takes no days off. He’s always there in times of trouble. When we consider “the shadow of death”, we must understand that death is ever present. In the flesh, we have a fear of the unknown, and death is in fact something we know nothing about in the physical. But when we’re spiritually born again, we have victory over the grave. In those moments of weakness, when we find ourselves fearing death, we see that God is present to comfort us.

Even in times of evil, when death is all around us, we should never be afraid. In the times when loved ones are leaving us more often than we’d like, we should be looking to God as a comforter. We should never allow ourselves to believe that God has made a mistake or that the devil has done something outside of God’s control. The moment God loses control of any situation, He ceases to be God, and that hasn’t happened. Instead, we are to trust God when we don’t understand His will, and look to the comfort He provides to make things easier.

Psalms 23:5 – “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over”

Here is why we should never concern ourselves with those that are against us or speak ill of us. God will exalt you in due time, and He will do so in a way in which your enemies will see it. “A table in the presence of mine enemies” tells us that we’re at a feast where our enemies are in attendance. Don’t be surprised when you’re in the same room with them. God wants them to be a witness to your elevation and celebration.

But we mustn’t be arrogant. It’s not so that we can gloat or boast, but so that God may be glorified. Revenge is God’s business. When we seek it on our own, we’re out of order. God has a way of showing those that mistreated us that He has in fact favored us.

He shall also anoint us and bless us in a way that will leave no doubt that we are chosen, blessed, honored and protected by Him. God’s anointing us in front of others is a verification. Again, we are blessed for all to see! Our blessing are so great, that they run over! They will be so abundant that we won’t be able to contain them. Such blessing are not given for selfish reasons, however. An overflow of blessings is given so that we can bless others.

Psalms 23:6 – “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”

This brings us full circle in this Psalm. Goodness and mercy will follow us as long as we follow the directions of our Good Shepherd. Consider the fact that mercy is God not giving us what we deserve, because at times, we’re outside of His will. When we as sheep go astray, God isn’t always looking to punish us, but rather show us mercy and lead us back into the fold. Man holds a grudge, but God holds us close to His heart. Staying with the Good Shepherd ensures that we will be under God’s goodness and mercy. And we should all have the desire to dwell in the house of the Lord (in His presence) forever. There is no place safer than that!

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Are you running your race: God provides all of us with the opportunity for success

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Old-NewAt one point or another in life, we find ourselves in a mad scramble to be what man has deemed a success. We watch television or look on social media, see what someone else has, and then begin envisioning what it would be like for us to have the same things. But as Christians, have we really considered what God has to say on the matter?

Whenever I teach on prosperity, I remind people that God has a different idea of success. We see material, God sees spiritual. We see a piece of the pie, God sees peace of mind. I recently stated on my radio show that success is a relative term. For someone that’s been poor all of their life, it may be money. For someone that’s been sick, it may be health. For someone with an addiction, it may be being clean and sober. All these things matter, and yet, they can seem elusive as well.

When looking at Ecclesiastes 9:10-12, I find that success isn’t always within the grasp of our own abilities. Sure, God has blessed us with said abilities, but we’ve all seen or known of someone that doesn’t seem to have lived up to their capabilities. We’ve all known people that seem to be well short of what they’re able to be. And the truth is, some of us may not be all that our abilities suggest we should be. But know that God wouldn’t give you the ability, without giving you the opportunity to utilize it. As we go through these verses, we will see that God will open the doors of chance, no matter where we are in life.

Let’s analyze the text:

10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest

In its simplest terms, this verse is telling us to work to our strength and ability while we yet have time. The popular phrase is stated “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today”. We often assume that we have time to do things, but how is it that we reach this conclusion? How do we know how much time we really have? (We’ll discuss this thinking when we get to Verse 12)

God wants us to know that we can’t do any work in the grave or beyond it. We must use all of the strength (might) that we have now to do whatever work needs to be done. Our earthly abilities have no value after we leave earth. We must take advantage of the life, health, and strength that God is giving us right now.

We often take the strength of our youth and use it to “live”. But as we wind down and aren’t capable of doing the things that we used to do, we then want to serve God from our seats. Well, God needs a youthful and energetic Christian, as well as a seasoned saint that can serve mentally when they can no longer do so physically.

11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all

One of my pet peeves with Scripture is misquoting and misapplication. This particular Scripture is one of the most misquoted Scriptures in the Bible, particular because of one portion. If you think about it, we’ve often heard this Scripture quoted in sermons, by people, and most definitely is song as “the race is not given to the swift nor strong”. Now, it seems like a small thing, but we must consider what Scripture is and its purpose before we go rearranging and even leaving out words. Scripture is God speaking to man and telling us through His Word how He expects us to live. Adding or taking away anything can confuse the message.

If I tell you that the “race is not given to the swift nor strong”, you become focused only on the race that you’re running. However, if I tell you, as Scripture states, that “the race is not given to the swift, nor the battle to the strong”, you’re aware that there will be a race and a battle. When this Scripture gets twisted, we’re prepared to run, but not to battle. This is why the devil loves a misquoted Scripture because it keeps us unprepared. You can’t properly apply what you don’t fully understand.

Once we do understand the Scripture in full, we can then apply what it’s saying to us. This 11th Verse keeps us focused on what it is that God has for us. Too often, we’re looking around at others that seem to be moving at a faster pace than we are, or they seem to be in a position of power that we desire for ourselves. However, we must continue to run the race that is before us. We must prepare for the battles that we have to face.

Additionally, people that seem to be faster than we are or stronger than we are, aren’t necessarily doing better than we are. God wants us to understand in this verse that what is for you will be there as long as you’re moving at your designed pace. We are required to do what God has designed us to do, and as long as we stay in that mode, the end of this verse tells us that time and opportunity will present itself. By running your own race and staying in your own lane, you will be prepared when presented with both.

12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them

Here, we find a conclusion to the thoughts stated in Verses 10 and 11. We have to remain focused on our task because we have no idea when our last day is upon us. I’ve often taught in Bible class that God gives us as much time as we need, no more, no less. This is why it bothers me when I hear Christians state that God took someone from physical life to death too soon. It’s an emotional statement that suggests that God makes mistakes, that He somehow doesn’t know what He’s doing, or that something is happening that is beyond His control. Death may sneak up on us, but it never will on God.

Also in this verse, death is discussed in unflattering terms. Fishes caught in an “evil” net. Birds caught in a “snare”. The sons of man “snared in an evil time”. This verse reminds us that death is at times unexpected and even unsettling. We’ve all been caught off guard by the way a person dies. This is what causes us to say things like “too soon” or “this isn’t of God”. But what this verse was designed to do is remind us that death can be sudden, and therefore we must really consider Verses 10 and 11.

It concludes that thought that we must live while we can. We must work on whatever gifts God has given us while we can, and do it to His glory. We must work to the level of our own strengths, and not to what we perceive others to be doing, because God will present us with opportunities for success in due time. It doesn’t matter how strong, gifted, intelligent, or financially blessed we are. If we fail to take advantage of the time and opportunity that God gives us to succeed, it won’t matter and we’ll fail to see success that matches what we were blessed with.

Also, we must forgive while we can because Verse 12 tells us that death can come upon us suddenly and we may not have as much time for reconciliation as we think. We must be willing to live in the moment as God has prospered us. Be active in our God-given abilities, not merely spectators of others. Not only is God able, but He’s made us able as well.