Psalm 23

Verse 1 : The lord is my shepherd, i shall lack nothing. 

The verse starts with the most important word of all..  The Lord.  

He is the Alpha and the Omega.  Beginning and the end, everything starts with him and ends with him too.  There is nothing in this world that can sustain in this world without him.   He is the creator, sustainer, the care giver.   

Next comes the acknowledgement that he is my shepherd.   We need to realize this  as one of the most important fact in our life.  A lot of times, we live in this world, thinking that we are living on our own merit, our own strength and our own accord.   We live like we are not responsible for anyone or responsible to anyone.  That is a very shortsighted approach.  When we look around and about, we will realize how he has been taking care of us through each day or our life, warding off all possible dangers and difficulties that this life brings.   He has his rod that directs us, keeps us on course,  takes us to our destination, and protects us from all the enemies who would like to pound on us and take us and kill us.  He keeps us safe from all the prying eyes, tempting snares, enemies hidden behind the bush that we might not be able to see.   We, in our shortsightedness, would like to live in a more freer environment, run away from the group, out of the boundaries set for us, dancing and singing in the wIlderness of life on our own, on our own terms, in a way that brings happiness to our selfish egos.  We would like to stand out of the crowd, be different and be seen by others as someone more gifted and talented than others.   In showing off our talents and abilities, we get so engrossed with our own self and ego that we forget what is good for all, we only begin to think of what is good for ourselves.   However, our Lord is not happy when we move out.  

He loves each one of us, individually and separately.  He recognizes each one of us, with our good and bad.   What we are is known to him and  what we think and do is known to him.  That is why when we move away, leaving his love, abandoning his bond of love, he keeps coming after us like a shepherd, looking for us and calling us to come back to his fold.  He love us and it pains him when we do not follow him, when we think we will be able to manage on our own.  Like children, we get adamant and resist his calling.  Sometimes we go so far that he cant reach us, he cant help us.  We need to actively look for him and reach out to him and this would make him happy.   When I come back into his circle of influence, He promises that I shall lack nothing.   He provided for all our needs, all that we ever want.  He satisfies us with abundance.  We do not even have to ask, everything gets taken care of just because we are his sheeps and part of his clan.  Lord, be my  shepherd.  He is truly absolutely the most wonderful shepherd that this world has ever seen.   He is the most benevolent and most caring shepherd than anyone near and dear to us in this world.  He keeps an eye on us always, watching over us and making sure that we are on the right course.  Praise you Lord.

V2 : He makes me lie down in green pastures,  he leads me beside quiet waters.  

What a promise.  Life with the lord is filled with peace and comfort, satisfaction and contentment.  He makes me lie down, just shows that he gives us enough and helps us rest in such beautiful surroundings. It is not a dry, wasteland that he leads us to...  but a land that is filled with green pastures.  Green pastures not only mean that they are quiet and beautiful to look at, but also that it is a land that can take care of all our needs.  What do sheeps need.. a green pasture to feed and remove their hunger so that they can rest and relax.   God promises us the same abundance.   We will be rested because he is going to take care of all our needs.   When our needs are fulfilled and we are content, we will be able to relax under His great wings.   It is a life of abundance.  We should  have enough time to think about the abundant mercies of God and thank Him for the wonderful gifts. 

The green colour signifies health, beauty, nature, everlasting, creation, vastness, bigness, care and protection.  he makes us lie down in such surroundings.  He is not asking us to work ourselves and get tired in these surroundings, but to lie down, to rest in him, to take leave of all the worries and troubles of this world and just be with Him.  He is a God who is able to provide us even when we are sleeping.  He knows when we are weak and when we need rest.   He takes care of us.   All we need to do is to love him, love him with all our heart.  

How can we not love Him - the one who takes care of everything for us.  When we look around, when we go through our daily life, we know that he is there, guarding us, giving us  all that we need, even when we dont ask, even when we feel he is not important in our life.  He takes care of us because we are his Children,His Creation.   

He also leads us beside quiet waters.  The point to be noted here is that he leads you.  You cannot go there on your own.  You have to follow Him.  You have to make yourself available for him to lead you.  When you follow Him, He will make you walk beside quiet waters.   Water is the source of life.  Without water, we will be dead.  He promises life and that too a peaceful and quiet, content and satisfied life.  There are no rumblings of a stream, but an everlasting peaceful sense of wellbeing.   He promises us that we will be able to find true inner peace and quietness when we are ready to follow Him,  under any circumstances.  It is not only the physical aspect, but on an emotional level as well.  Even when we are surrounded by anger, problems, grief and all sorts of sounds and voices, if we invite God into our heart and ask him to walk with us, we can enjoy  peace and contentment.  Our inner self will be relaxed and comforted by the divine presence of His being.  He will help us find quietness - a quiet stream within yourself.   

V3: He refreshes my soul, he guides me along the right paths for his name's sake.  

with the onslaught of this world's problems and difficulties, we grow tired and weak and our soul thirst for some refreshing spirit to come and help them regain the energy and strength to fight out the battles of this world.    our lord is the only one who keeps us refreshed always, gives us a reason to live and be happy in this world.  our soul gets all the nourishment and refreshing spirit from the everlasting source of god.  he pours out his refreshment through constantly intervening and engaging with us without even us knowing about it.  when we sleep, his spirit oversee us, refreshes our body with renewed strength and rigor, similarly our soul also is being constantly nourishes and cared for by our lord.    when we are under his care, he takes care of us and he guides us and keeps us on the right road, for his names sake.  because when we are doing the right thing, the others around us are going to see it and glorify god.  they would know that it is because we are god's people, that we r enjoying these fruits of his love..  it helps others to come closer to him and enjoy the fruits of his love.  the joy and happiness that abound in us would be visible to others.   we would glorify god and all glory would be to his name.  therefore it is becoming of us to follow him, his path, the path that he guides us on...  let's not follow this world but the lord.  let's follow what lord wants us to do so that not ours but his name may be glorified.  he is the ultimate giver and lover.  there is no one who loves us better than him and no one who cares for us more than him.  let us rely on him and his words.   it will bring us eternal joy and eternal peace.  it will take care of all our worries and problems.  today morning i had a very comfortable journey.  i missed the first bus which was partly crowded and the first metro again which was crowded.   the second one that came was so empty that i felt that it is the most comfortable journey i could possibly have had.   so, don't regret if you have missed the first bus.  wait on him and wait for his divine interference.   what he provides us is the most comfortable and peaceful journey that we can think of.  just keep thinking about him, his word and thank him for all the wonderful things he is doing in your life.   there is no one greater than him.  praise the lord!

V4: Even though i walk through the darkest valley, i will fear no evil for you are with me.  your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Life is not always a rosy path.  there are ups and downs and there are difficult times that we could have wished away...  but they are there and we have to face them whatever it is.  Sometimes it is difficult to run away..  sometimes our past mistakes come to haunt us or it might be someone close to us who are going through a trying time and we would need to be with them to comfort them and support them,  sometimes the close ones become a little too difficult to handle. Whatever it is, life could turn difficult.  The emotional burdens, financial burdens, societal burdens, physical pain and burdens could all just become too much to bear.  We might just want to break down..  but God reminds us through this verse that whatever circumstances we are going through even though it seems like the darkest period of our life, we do not have to worry.  We should have comfort in the fact that He is with us. If God is with us, then the evil cannot take over and win the final battle.  The final victory will be ours.  

We can come out of all these painful situations with flying colours, more strengthened, more refined and with a lot more vigour and energy to face life.  God gives us that hope.  We need to look for the light at the end of the tunnel.  The tunnel is just a tunnel.  It cant last forever.  The beautiful mountainside with all the greenery and the amazing views will be ours to behold.  But the most important thing to remember is that He has to be with you.  We have to ask him to be with us when we are going through these darkest periods of life.  He will fight the evil for us.  He will keep us safe and let no harm come near us.  His rod and staff is our comfort and our protection. We can safely be ensconced within the warmth of His love and care while He fights the battle for us.  He has already done that so many times, so why would we need to be afraid now,  he says do not fear, he is with us.

V5: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

There definitely are going to be enemies.  God does not guarantee a problem free, enemy free world.  However, even when there are enemies around us, waiting to pounce on us, God promises us that he will take care of all our needs.   He will keep our enemies at bay.  We prepare and sit around a table when we are very comfortable, our loved ones are around us, and our friends are there with us to enjoy and support us. So, in their presence, in front of them, he will provide us plentifully. When he anoints us with his holy oil, we will not know what is poverty.  everything is going to be in abundance!  our cup just overflows.  he provides us much much more than we need.

V6: Surely your goodness will follow me all the days of my life.   and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever.

Your goodness is much more than anything considered even remotely good  in this world.  The goodness that comes from the Lord  is filled with everlasting happiness with a sense of peace and a sense of satisfaction. The things that we feel is good from this world only creates more and more want/greed in us which results in more and more unhappiness as timew goes by.  It creates jealousy and therefore harm and anger towards one another.  The goodness that comes from Lord is bliss, filled with eternal happiness that is showered from above.  It is all encompassing and fulfills us beyond compare.  Nothing in this world can match with the goodness poured upon us by the Almighty God.  And I will dwell in His house, that is the promise.  In his eternal kingdom, be a part of his innermost circle of love forever.  Those who live in one house is family.   And that is his promise that he will take us in like a family of his own.  He is owning us like children of his own.   We are to enjoy his love and warmth, always secure under his protection and care.   He protects like a father, provides for all our needs and wants.  He is like a friend, a companion beyond compare.  He can fill us with his spirit so we never feel lonely or left out anywhere.