Are you trapped in a rut?
Years ago, when folks were adventuring west, they saw this sign in Kansas.
“Choose your rut well, you’re going to be in it for the next 2000 miles.”
Ruts are a big part of life whether we choose them or not.
Since we fall quickly, it’s good to plan ahead on who will be the guide.
One of the shortest chapters in the Bible shows the way out.
Everybody has a guide
Life is a highway. Everyone’s passing through.
Everyone’s going somewhere, but not everyone has the best guide.
One of the most colorful writers of Scripture brightens our direction.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” David, Psalm 23:1
Not once in the 23rd Psalm does David mention a rut like health or wealth.
He focuses entirely on the guide.
“The Lord . . .”
If God is not our guide, we will find ourselves like sheep without a shepherd circling aimlessly in the darkness.
Choose a guide who leads personally
Martin Luther said the unique message of the Bible is inside its personal pronouns.
Psalm 23 has seventeen personal pronouns.
“I, me” or “my.” “The Lord is my shepherd.”
God is saying we have a personal relationship.
Not a religious, ecclesiastical, or liturgical relationship.
A personal relationship with God.
As Anselm said, we are talking about “Someone whom nothing greater can be thought.”
And when a person places their life totally upon the God of the Bible, they can confidently say with David in Psalm 23 . . .
- “I lack nothing.”
- “I shall not fear.”
Choose a guide who calms anxiety
I have read Psalm 23 at many funerals.
There are three powerful images that God wants us to see about His presence in our lives.
All three images are vivid scenes in the natural world.
Scene #1: Leads me beside still waters
Shepherds avoid rushing creeks.
They seek out calm lagoons.
We need a calm lagoon every day.
“I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.” David, Psalm 16:7-9
Even sheep know how to patiently survive a storm, trusting their shepherd.
Scene #2: Lie down in green pastures
On the way to calm water, the wise guide gives breaks in green pastures.
He made them for our journey.
That’s why I love spring wildflowers in Texas.
Their beauty reminds us of the ultimate source for nourishment.
“Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?” Matthew 6 selected verses
Our problems persist when we refuse to see the source.
Nourishment persists when we stay connected to the source.
Scene #3: Paths of righteousness
God doesn’t hand us a map.
He gives us his hand.
“He guides me in the paths of righteousness.” Psalm 23:3
God’s reputation depends upon taking us the right way. . . “for his name’s sake.”
Right paths or right tracks lead to the right destination.
The paths here are literally wagon tracks.
A good shepherd knows where they are and follows them.
God never leads anyone the wrong way.
In the darkest hours of our lives, He is with us. God is with us.
Not just for us. He stays with us. He is with us perennially.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23: 4
My uncle, Melvin Craig, was on the 330-day march from Normandy in June 1944 to Berlin in May 1945.
I didn’t know why he always quoted Psalm 23 when he visited us as kids.
Now, at 65, I do.
I never knew the horror he witnessed during those 330 days and nights.
But, he told me he quoted Psalm 23 throughout that long campaign.
He found a lagoon and the right path every scary day in the word of God.
Who are you following to escape your ruts?
Hey Steve,
I love your blog, but you can make a huge difference by writing something slightly more thought provoking, like what is happening to our country and society. More specifically, why our community is so violent and why there are so many people wanting to make an impact by killing our children? Sorry to put you on the spot but you always have great thoughts and theological answers to these questions. Feel free to delete my post, I’m just heart broken by what just happened in Colorado. Cheers …AB
Thank you for your passionate comment Alberto. Like you and millions around the world, I’m heartbroken over the exploitation and murder of our children. Unfortunately, the tragedy in Highland Springs, Colorado happened the day after my post on Psalm 23. But, to your point, I do engage the crisis of horrible evil like mass murder and suffering in our world on a regular basis. See http://bit.ly/whenEVILstrikes, http://bit.ly/Survive2019.