December 2, 2019
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
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.
(Psalms 23:1-6 (NIV))
Have you ever truly looked at this passage in language that can make the Lord’s love personal? What if we paraphrase this passage to help us understand the personal relationship that the Lord desires with each of us and just what He will do for us when we accept His grace and mercy?
If I place my trust in Him, the Lord will be my personal shepherd and guide.
He will provide for all that I need.
He will give me peace and rest.
He will provide direction for my life.
He will provide complete restoration.
He will remove all fear and doubt.
He will provide comfort.
He will sustain us through the troubles of this world.
He will anoint us and bless us because we have placed our faith and trust in Him.
He will pour out His goodness and His love on us as we strive to follow Him.
He will provide us an eternal, permanent residence with Himself where all of the things previously mentioned will continue for all eternity!
I realize that this may sound like prosperity preaching, but it is far from that. What the Lord has promised us is mercy and grace. Through the gift of His Son Jesus, each of us have the opportunity to receive this wonderful gift and all of the blessings that have been promised. These gifts are not for the greedy, for all can possess them equally. These gifts are not for the cynic, for anyone who is a cynic has a hardened heart. These gifts are simply for anyone who will allow the Lord to soften their heart and show them that what they seek is only available through Him.
Do the things that David wrote of in this passage sound like something that you desire? All that you have to do is ask the Lord to be your shepherd!
Is the Lord your shepherd?
Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook
Like this:
Like Loading...
Leave a Comment » | 
anointing, comfort, dwell with God, God will sustain us, God's goodness, God's love, God's love and mercy, God's love endures forever, God's peace, God's righteousness, His peace, His righteousness, restoration, spiritual restoration, the Lord is my shepherd, Uncategorized | Tagged: accept, anoint, ask, Be still, bless, blessings, Comfort, complete, desires, direction, doubt, dwell, Enemies, eternal, faith, Fear, gift, give, goodness, grace, green, guide, guides, heart, house, Jesus, leads, life, Lord, Love, mercy, no evil, oil, overflows, paraphrase, passage, pastures, paths, peace, permanent, personal, placed, prepare, presence, promised, provide, quiet, relationship, remove, residence, rest, restoration, restores, righteousness, rod, seek, shepherd, soften, soul, staff, sustain, table, troubles, Trust, want, waters, wonderful | 
Permalink
Posted by dailylivingministries
January 24, 2013
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
(Isaiah 50:4 (NIV))
What can sustain the weary?
Think about that question.
What makes you weary? Is it the world? Is it your job? Is it relationships that you wish were different? Is it the state of the world with all of the trials and tribulations that we must face? What sustains you in the midst of these trials and tribulations? What sustains you when you feel that you cannot go on?
Isaiah was given words to say to people who were weary. God gave him words of hope to speak to the people of Israel. Many of the prophesies regarding the coming of Jesus were spoken through Isaiah. What made Isaiah different from all of the people around him? Why was he able to hear God when the others did not? Perhaps we are given a clue as to Isaiah’s abilities in the remaining lines of the passage. God awoke Isaiah every morning and taught him. God spoke to Isaiah because Isaiah was willing to listen. What made Isaiah willing to listen?
What makes you willing to listen to someone? I believe that there are two primary reasons someone willingly listens to someone else. They love the person speaking, or they are interested in the topic. In Isaiah, I believe that we have found both. He loved the Lord and, because of this love, he also was very interested in what God had to say. He listened because he longed for God’s truth. This, alone, is enough to sustain the weary. Simply listening to God and taking his Word to heart is sufficient to sustain even the most weary of individuals.
Are you weary? Do you listen to God? Do you embrace every word that He has given us?
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28 (NIV))
Have you found rest?
Are you willing to listen to God?
Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Like this:
Like Loading...
Leave a Comment » | faith, God, God will sustain us, God's truth, hear God, His Word, Isaiah, Israel, Jesus, listen to God, Love, prophesies, rest in God, Sovereign Lord, trials and tribulations, Trust, weariness, weary and burdened, willing to listen and learn | Tagged: are you willing, Be still, Come to me, God, God's truth, hear God, His Word, Isaiah, Israel, Jesus, job, listen, Lord, Love, prophesies, relationships, rest, sovereign, sustain, trials, tribulations, weary, willing to listen, world | Permalink
Posted by dailylivingministries
Daily Living Ministries 