Psalm 23 (Meditation) [Part 4]

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 four: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

      If we walk in the footsteps of Christ and genuinely live the Christian life, we are bound to face strong opposition. Sometimes we may even find ourselves in physical danger. Also, as is often the case for many evangelists, God may call us into places where dangers loom in every corner.

      This verse uses the word “valley,” which is translated to be “steep valley” and “narrow gorge,” because the term reflects the shadows, gloominess, and depression that one would likely feel in such a place, as opposed to the feeling of strolling on the mountain top. The shadow of death refers to danger, distress, and darkness.

      But even in such treacherous situations, the psalmist says that he will fear nothing. No evil, danger, or threat will place fear in his heart, and he goes on to explain why: “For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” The rod and the staff are two different objects. The rod is used to fight off danger, and the staff is used to guide straying sheep with its crook. We can be fearless under the hand of Christ because we know that He will guide our steps and defend us from evil.

      We are comforted by that knowledge, and we can rest secured by His grace. God will give us the strength to live out His perfect will in our lives. No matter where we go, as long as our Shepherd is with us as we walk in His way, we have nothing to fear.

Blessings,

Nathanael Chong

New Year Prayer

Heavenly Father,

      We look back on the past year, and we see all that we have been through. We also see the many things You have done and how Your hand had been in our lives ever since the beginning. We want to say "thank you" for everything, just everything. We have grown so much in those experiences, and we thank You for them. Though we had both successes and failures, victories and struggles, good times and bad times, we know that You had always been with us and will continue to walk with us.

      As we step into this new year with faith, we ask that You will continue to work in our lives. We believe that this year will be filled with new opportunities to grow even more in our walk with You. Continue to lead us, guide us, and reveal to us Your will. Take us by the hand and bring us through the adventures the year will bring us. Let us not walk astray, but may we always keep You as our focus in life.

      We enter this new year with great expectations and with hope for a great journey with You.

We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Psalm 23 (Meditation) [Part 3]

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 three: He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

      “He restoreth my soul.” Here, David continues expressing the refreshing experience the Lord gives us. The word “restore” means “to bring back to an original or former condition; to return to a state of health and vigor.” We will grow weary spiritually from time to time. As I have had only seventeen years of life, I may not have yet experience what it would be like to be spiritually weary. But I expect that I will, because we all will.

      When we start feeling unfulfilled in our careers, discouraged, depressed, low-spirited, and like we’re dragging our feet, the world will tells us things like, “Maybe this is not what you should be doing in life,” “It’s time for a change in direction,” and “Stop doing what you’re doing and look for something else that makes you happy.” However, there are two problems. First, it’s not always possible to drop our careers or other activities to start from scratch somewhere else. Second, God may not want us to leave our current paths, even with the struggles heading our way. But whether He wants us to stay or move elsewhere, He wants us to turn to Him for refreshment, because that’s the answer to the fundamental problem. There is no career or activity in this world that will keep us happy all the time. We will face periods of discouragement and pressure, and we will have times when we feel like we cannot go on, no matter how passionate we are of the work. Our souls will get weary, and no change of environment will keep us up for long. What we need is the Life-giver, the One Who restores our souls to a state of vigor and renewed passion. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

      “…he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” The Lord leads me in righteousness. He guides me in righteousness. He instructs me in righteousness, because I can never properly walk in the way of righteousness on my own. I can try to, but I can never do it successfully. I need God to guide me on the right path.

      The implications in the phrase “for his name’s sake” in this particular verse can be perplexing to some. It was to me, for a while. So I was very excited when I figured it out! This phrase can be rephrased as, “for his reputation’s sake.” If that doesn’t ring a bell yet, look at it this way: When we pray, “Lord, please help this person, for Your name’s sake,” what we mean is that, should God answer your prayer, all the glory will go to Him. In other words, we are saying “For Your glory.” Now, we should be able to understand what the psalmist meant when he said, “he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” What I believe he was trying to say is that when I am able to walk in righteousness, I will point to God to give Him the glory, because I cannot do it on my own. When He guides us, we will succeed, and He will get the glory.

Blessings,
Nathanael Chong

Psalm 23 (Meditation) [Part 2]

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 two: He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

      Let’s keep in mind what we’ve discussed in the previous post as we explore the second verse of this psalm.

      “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” The Greek term for “lie down” is “Rabats” (raw-bats'), which means “to stretch oneself out; to lie stretched out.” Imagine relaxing in the afternoon stretched out under a tree or on a hammock. How would you feel? You might feel peaceful and lethargic, probably even slightly vulnerable. When sheep lie down in a pasture, they would become helpless, unable to respond quickly to danger. Therefore, their shepherd must make sure that the environment is safe. Likewise, our Lord, the Good Shepherd, leads us to rest, and we can have faith that we are safe. However, the struggle is in trusting God enough to be led to a vulnerable position. We do not like to feel weak. The question is: Are we willing and able to trust God in our weaknesses?

      One of a shepherd’s task is to lead his flock to a pasture with good vegetation. The word “green” in this verse means “grass; new grass; green herb.” Our Lord would not lead His sheep to a field with poor quality, dry, brown grass. Rather, He would bring them to pastures with grass that are new, fresh, and healthy. That’s the love of our Heavenly Father. We can be sure that, as we place our lives into His hands, He would take good care of us and give us the spiritual nourishment we need each day.

      “He leadeth me beside the still waters.” This continues the concept of God leading us to places of rest and refreshment when we need them. He leads us to “still waters.” The NIV uses the words “quiet waters.” I believe that the psalmist was trying to convey the wonderful peace and safety that can only come from God.

      Our LORD knows everything we need. This second verse of Psalm 23 addresses two of the main fundamental needs of man: nourishment (both physical and spiritual) and inner peace. And it encourages us to turn to the Person who can meet those needs in ways the world can’t. So my question for us all today is this: Will we turn to God for our daily bread and for the true peace that will sustain us amidst the world’s turmoil? I pray we will, each and every day.

Blessings,
Nathanael Chong