This is a study on Psalm 23 to discover the goodness of God and the prosperity promises he made for his people. At the end of this article I hope you will enjoy a higher level of confidence and faith that God is determined to prosper and protect you.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams
Psalm 23:1-2 (NLT)
Verse 1 itself links the Lord with provision. As long as he is my shepherd, I have all that I need. I will have all the health, wealth, protection, comfort, encouragement and anything else I need. In short, the leadership of the Lord in my life guarantees total and complete prosperity.
Verse 2 was spoken within the perspective of a sheep. Green meadows and peaceful streams provide unlimited food and water to the sheep. The sheep cared by this shepherd will never suffer from hunger nor any other lack. This reinforces Verse 1 on the assurance of prosperity of God in our lives.
3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Psalm 23:3 (NLT)
Why does he need to renew my strength? Obviously when I am tired or discouraged.
You may be facing a tough battle now. You may feel like giving up because the enemies are too strong. Your strength is weakening. I have the word of The Lord for you. The Lord is telling you not to give up. Trust in him. He will renew your strength. He will make you stronger than all your enemies. You will beat them. Once you manage to beat them off, the reward is great.
(Please refer to my other article entitled, “From Enemies To Delivery Boys Of Prosperity” at http://cheee.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/from-enemies-to-delivery-boys-of-prosperity/.)
He also guides me along right paths? What is that? Based on the context set by Verse 1 and 2, the right paths must be the paths to prosperity. He wants to lead us toward greater prosperity. The subsequent sentence tells us that our prosperity brings honor to his name.
Do you want to bring honor to his name and glorify him? If your answer is yes, then start believing him for your prosperity.
4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
Psalm 23:4 (NLT)
Please note that Verse 4 begins with “Even when I”. The Lord did not lead me to the darkest valley. I did that myself. Why? Through moments of weakness, anger, greed and carelessness. After all, we make mistakes. (The term, “Even when” does not mean I must walk through the darkest valley. This line is only an insurance policy against momentary mistakes.)
So, even if I got myself into deep trouble from my mistake, I shall not be afraid because the Lord is still with me. I shall believe that he can and he will rescue me.
A shepherd’s rod and staff are used to protect himself and his flocks against predators. They are symbols of protection. So, whenever you are under attack, focus on the Lord’s promise of protection and deliverance for you. Only then will you experience peace and consequently able to activate your faith to fight back.
5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Psalm 23:5 (NLT)
Feasts are for celebration. The Lord wants us to celebrate for our victory even before our enemies are completely defeated. Why? He wants us to live by faith. He wants us to believe in his deliverance even before we see it. After all, what is faith?
1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
( I have a related article mentioned above on this issue. Please refer to my other article entitled, “From Enemies To Delivery Boys Of Prosperity” at http://cheee.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/from-enemies-to-delivery-boys-of-prosperity/.)
The Lord honors me with overflowing blessings. Overflow refers to more than enough. More than I can contain. Does blessing always refer to prosperity?
22The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Proverbs 10:22(KJV)
(Please refer to my other article entitled, “The Blessing Of Prosperity” at http://cheee.wordpress.com/2007/12/26/the-blessing-of-prosperity/)
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6 (NLT)
This is the last verse in Psalm 23. It starts with “surely” and ends with a good news. What is “surely” anyway? It means there is no exception, no “maybe”. When I was in my religious church, I was informed of many “maybes”.
Maybe God wants you to be sick.
Maybe God wants you to be poor.
Maybe God wants you to suffer.
Yet Psalm 23 says otherwise.
(For more information on my past, please refer to http://cheee.wordpress.com/about/)
Verse 6 gives me the certainty that the Lord’s goodness and unfailing love will pursue me for life. Pursue means I don’t have to look for them. They will come after me. All I need to do is to trust and believe in the Lord. Then his love and goodness will pursue me for life.
“, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”
This is a great ending for believers. Live in the house of the Lord forever.
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