Devotional 5-9-14

Feeling Sheepish

A Psalm of David
23 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, 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.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell[a] in the house of the LORD
Forever.

I have gone to way too many funerals this year. A few were for the parents of childhood friends, some were for friends from church, one was for a classmate, and the saddest was for the child of a couple I have known since we were teenagers.

It is no surprise that Psalm 23 was part of almost every service. Sometimes we recited it together. Sometimes it was read to those gathered. Always I dreaded it. That statement may shock you, but to me it was a signal that a life was over. All I heard was that someone was taking a walk through the valley of the shadow of death. What could be worse? How was that comforting?

You can imagine my dismay when David’s psalm came up as a scripture for the devotion for this week. I tried to write about one of the other lectionary readings, but God would not hear it. He decided that I needed to study this poem until I understood what it was about.

As a middle school teacher, I have spent my life trying to convince teens that they should not act like mindless sheep, following the loudest voice into who knows what. But in this psalm, David reminds me that God is not saying that I am mindless. He is taking care of me because I do not know what lies ahead. When bad things happen – and bad things will happen – He will find me and guide me through the tough times.

What does the table have to do with the sheep? Probably nothing. God knows that I am a visual learner, so He gives me one more picture.  I am sitting at His table, my feet are washed, my hair is anointed with fragrant oil, my wine glass is full, and God, my host, treats me with goodness and mercy because I belong to Him.

I am not looking forward to another funeral. But when I attend another one – and I will attend another – I will be ready, willing, and able to recite Psalm 23 with hope and love. You see, I finally understand that this psalm is not about dying. It is about living a life that takes the fear out of dying. It is about the shepherd taking care of His sheep - me.

Prayer - Heavenly Father, I am so relieved to know that when this sheep is too lost to find You, You will come looking for me. My cup truly does run over. Amen

Becky Warren