Psalm 23 (Meditation) [Part 1]

Note: In Meditation posts, I will be sharing the lessons and insights I have personally gained from studying and meditating on God’s Word. Please note that these are from my personal viewpoint. I am aware that God may reveal many different insights to different people from the same verse or passage. That is what makes the Bible alive! So don’t stop searching for God’s own personal revelation to you.

      Verse one: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

      So first, the LORD is our shepherd. One method of meditation that I find very effective is emphasizing different words as I repeat the phrase or sentence. Let’s try it out.

      “The LORD is my shepherd.” The word emphasized is “LORD.” God Himself is the one who is personally involved in our lives. Imagine the wonder of knowing that Jehovah, the King who created the heavens, cares about us enough to be our shepherd.

      “The LORD is MY shepherd.” Again, this reflects the personal character of our God. He doesn’t just look at the human race as a whole. He knows each one of us by name. David did not say “The LORD is OUR shepherd,” though it is true. He was specifically saying “The LORD is MY shepherd.” He recognized that God has His eyes on each individual’s life.

      “The LORD is my SHEPHERD.” Now, what does a shepherd do? A shepherd is one who guides, protects, and provides for his sheep. A shepherd watches over his flock, repeatedly counting them to make sure none were missing. Christ depicted his loving role as shepherd in the story of the 100 sheep. When just one of the fluffy animals was missing, the shepherd immediately left the other ninety-nine in the fold and went out to search for it. And he never stopped searching until that missing one was back safe with the flock. That’s our God. That’s our Shepherd.

      Let’s move on to the next phrase: I shall not want. What does “want” mean? Does it mean I will not have any desire whatsoever? No, that doesn’t make sense. Let’s check the Greek translation, shall we? The Greek word for “want” is “khaw-sare',” which means “to lack, or be without.” So the phrase actually says, “I shall not lack”! Cool! How does that fit into the whole verse?

      “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” When we allow the Lord to be the guide of our life, we have nothing to fear. We will not lack anything. Sure, we can desire riches and possessions, but that’s just what we want. God promises that we will have everything we need, should we dedicate everything we are to Him, and to depend on Him as much as the sheep depend on the shepherd. This is something I’m trying to remember, too. I often fear the future, wondering if I’ll ever live in poverty. I need to learn to trust God more, and to have confidence in His faithfulness. We all need to grow in faith as we walk with the Lord.

Blessings,
Nathanael Chong

His Hand Over Us

      Last week, during a home school conference, the girls’ group had a day trip to a National Service training ground. They went through obstacle courses in which they climbed walls, walked on shaky planks, and swing across a muddy pit. I was browsing through the pictures taken that day, enjoying the various expressions on people’s faces. Then I came across this picture.

Photo by Eliza Tan; used with permission

      This obstacle involved crawling on one’s belly under a network of barbed wire. Now, look at this image closely. Notice that one of the guides there had his hand hovering over the little girl’s head, protecting her from the wires that hung suspended just a few centimetres above her.

      As I pondered on this image before my eyes, I realized how much it portrayed the Christian life. When we have Christ as our Guide and Lord, God has His mighty hand over us, protecting us from great harm and evil. However, that does not mean that we will not face hardships and challenges. We still need to crawl on the dirt. We still need to go through the difficulties that life throws at us. We still need to be aware of evil and avoid it. But what’s so wonderful is that we know we are not alone. We know that our Heavenly Father is watching over us, knowing our paths, and protecting us.

      Another illustration of this is a series of pictures I once saw a few years ago. The first picture portrayed a boy praying for God to protect him. The next image showed him walking along—and then getting hit by a small stone! He then got angry and asked God why, despite his earlier prayer, he was struck by the stone. Wouldn’t God answer his prayer? Finally, the last picture portrayed Jesus standing behind this boy, blocking the larger, enormous rocks and boulders that came crashing in his direction. Yes, God is big enough to prevent all trouble from occurring, but He knows we need to grow through the trials we face. The message this series of pictures was trying to get across was that our Lord, in His love and mercy, is protecting us from the worse dangers, physical or spiritual, in this world.

      Many verses in the Bible talk about God's hand. Psalm 20:6 says, "Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand." Psalm 144:7 states, "Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters . . ."

      But this is not so for the one who turns from God. If a person rejects the lordship of Christ and refuses to let God be personally involved in his life, God will remove His hand, allowing this person to be more vulnerable to the greater evils around him. It would be like the child who leaves the authority and protection of his parents. Such a child would be more likely to get involved in things like drinking, gambling, drug-taking, and many others. And such a lifestyle can be costly. In Jeremiah 15:6, the Lord says: "You have rejected me, declares the Lord; you keep going backward,
so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting." Lamentations 2:3 restates this aspect of God's hand: "He has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel; he has withdrawn from them his right hand in the face of the enemy . . ."

      As for me, I feel comforted knowing that God has His hand over my head, His eyes on my path, and His Spirit in my heart. I hope you will let Him be involved in your life in such a personal and amazing way.

Blessings,
Nathanael Chong

Paris Attack: Our Faith In God

      Recently, the city of Paris suffered from a terrorist attack, for which the Islamic State claimed to be responsible. It was shocking and terrible. The world mourns with the people of France, especially with the family members of the many victims who died. In addition, there was another suicide bombing in Beirut just a day before the Paris attack. Silence was the only appropriate response to the attack on that fateful night.

      But the silence carried volumes. It carried the shock, the anguish, and the pain. But in the silence, the people also gave a message: “We are not afraid.” And our hearts stand with them.

      It is during times like these when God seems so far away. But we know He is not. We know He was right there when the tragedy occurred. We just don’t know why He allowed it. Sometimes there can be no comprehensible explanation. But will our faith shake, even when it seems like we are standing alone?

      I find it very interesting that, the day after the Paris attack, I heard the beautiful song “Trust His Heart.” It has been a number of years since I last listened to it. The first stanza of the song goes:

All things work for our good,
Though sometimes we don’t see how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth.

Our Father knows what’s best for us,
His ways are our own.
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just don’t see Him,
Remember you’re never alone.

The Chorus:

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don’t understand,
When you don’t see His plan,
When you can’t trace His hand,
Trust His heart.

      I find that this is such a powerful song for times such as this. But it’s not just Paris or Beirut. It’s the whole world, and we need to pray for them. May our faith in the goodness of God never be shaken.

Prayer:

      Heavenly Father, we pray for the people of this world, and for the family members of the victims of terrorism. We pray that You will take these situations and turn it around for Your glory, from situations of loss to situations of gain. We ask that You will reveal Yourself to them in a very real way. Give them a peace of mind and a peace of heart. Though we do not understand everything, we trust that You do. Turn the hearts of the people to You, O Lord. Give them the strength and the grace that they need. Let them see You right in their midst, the never-failing hope.

      And we ask that You will strengthen Your children to be the support, encouragement, and light that we should be. Use us as a vessel for Your work for Your glory. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Blessings,
Nathanael Chong