Wednesday in the Word

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,  
    he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake. 
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

I often overlook Psalm 23. Isn't that terrible? I know. But I do. I'm not proud to say, I do that to a lot of the commonly used scriptures. If I see them on coffee mugs or bumper stickers I dismiss them...as if they don't hold enough meaning and power just because man has commercialized God's Word.

But I will admit that my thinking in this regard is wrong. All wrong. Just because people have chosen to make a profit on God's Word doesn't mean that His Word is any less powerful or divine.

As I always do, I chose today's photo before I chose the scripture. I chose the photo then I searched a scripture containing the word "waters". There were many to choose from. Many upon many. I skimmed as I am wont to do. I skimmed over Psalm 23...and passed it right on by. But as I continued down the page I felt the tug to go back to it...to read it with an open mind...to read it for what it is...part of God's love letter and handbook of life written to me. 

Yes. To me. And to you.

Did you know that if you were the only person in the whole world Jesus would have died for you? It's true. He would have died just for you...just for me...just for one single person. He loves us that much.

Take a moment...if you didn't already, and read Psalm 23. And if you already read it...maybe read it again. Let Him restore your soul.