Take Comfort In Knowing 

Who Walks Beside You

Psalm 23:1-6

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

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.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

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.

Psalm 23 is such a well-known, beloved psalm. I think it is a passage that has been so thoroughly taken apart and written about and studied and preached on that sometimes we just gloss over it.

But it is such a beautiful and comforting psalm.

Just yesterday I was listening to a sermon online and something I heard made me take another look at it.

Have you ever thought that although we don’t get to choose where the shepherd leads us, in green pastures, by still waters or even through the shadow of the valley of death, we do get to have him walk beside us?

Let me say that again.

Although you don’t get to choose where the shepherd leads you, or what he takes you through, you DO get to have the great shepherd walk beside you!

We don’t have to fear when we walk through dark times, this psalm reminds us of that.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me”

God is with us when the days are bright and all is going well, and he is still with us when the darkness begins to descend, and we stumble and fall.

So, as you look around you at all the world’s chaos and you find yourself fearing the future, remember that God is with you.

Hebrews 13:5b “…..for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Right now, the world is a scary and unpredictable place, and it’s easy for us to take our eyes off the Lord and look around at the circumstances that are screaming for our attention.

Take comfort in knowing who it is that walks beside you. God, the creator of heaven and earth, the Saviour of our souls, cares enough about you, his precious sheep, that he won’t desert you in your hour of trouble. He is near. And he is faithful and always keeps his promises.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 KJV - But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

One of the meanings of the word stablish in this verse means to strengthen. God will strengthen you. He will give you the power you need to go on.

And I love the meaning of ‘keep’ here in this verse. It has the idea of guarding, keeping watch, protecting and caring for.

Although this present world we live in is evil, God will guard us from the evil that surrounds us. He will keep us. He will protect us. He will gather us in his sheltering arms and hold us close to him.

He is ever present and always near.

We may not know where the shepherd will lead us and what dark roads may lie ahead, but we can rest in the promise that he will walk beside us and watch over us, like a loving shepherd does his sheep.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me..

You don’t need to fear the storm as long as you have the Lord Jesus in the boat with you. It’s not the strength of the boat or the power of the storm that matters, it’s who you have with you in the boat.

Don’t live in fear. Live in faith!

Trust God!

 

Matthew 28:20b  …and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.