Friday, April 8, 2016

Psalm 23

God, my shepherd!  I don’t need a thing.  You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.  True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.  Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side.  Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.  You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.  You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.  Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.  I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.  Psalm 23 MSG

The 23rd Psalm is a great meditation for all people.  Many of the other Psalms are full of lists of complaints and different stresses of this world but this one calms me.  It still references the troubles we all go through but it seems to encourage us to look over our lives.  Pay attention to the direction we receive from God.  Realize how God is guiding our hearts, our attention, our lives.  And through this direction He is leading us in the way that is best for us.  Through His Words in the Bible, we find the solace we need during trouble.  Our joy is derived from His covering.  Not that everything is always running smoothly in our lives, but real joy is knowing He is always Lord and things will work out for the best.  I will have the best, you will have the best, your family will have the best and so on.  We will have God's best for us.  We are living testimonies of how God will keep us, restore us, and use us to spread His good news.  I try to always lead worship out of the reservoir of joy God provides for me.  I am convinced we should not spend so much energy making sure our lives our comfortable because our lives will never be comfortable enough.  We should instead turn our energies to connecting to the Lord who, through His tender care, will give us the joy we need to sustain us through our entire life.  His presence will be with us every day - always.


Enjoy this musical narration of the death, burial, and resurrection of 
Jesus inspired by the Book of John.
"He is Lord" is performed by myself, Dan Rixon, and Jordache Grant