“The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in the 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.”
PSALM 23
A while back a friend shared
this amazing spiritual exercise wherein you use the scripture above as well as
the cadence and meaning of the words, which are a prayer, and then re-phrase
each line using your own words so that it now expresses your most deep-seated
understanding of God as the Shepherd and the protector of YOUR life. In doing so you find an honest and deep
perspective of your own heart!
Here is my personal 23rd
Psalm:
“The Lord is my rescuer; I no longer feel alone;
He provides a place of security for me….
He tells me I am in safety.
He eliminates my fears.
He shields me from what isn’t right or just
Because he knows I need that protection.
Even though I live
In a world where people neither realize nor can meet
my needs
I will be comforted and cared for!
For you, LORD, will never dishonor me!
Your protective instincts rise up to speak for me; you
are my voice.
You tell me, and others, that I am valuable;
You mean every word. You shine worth
and lavish true friendship upon me;
My broken-heart overflows.
My broken-heart overflows.
Surely the goodness of the Lord will protect me all
the days of my life
And I will serve the Lord, my God-from now until
forever”
This is the most honest you
will ever find me and…. if you do the exercise it will probably be the most
honest you will ever be with yourself as well.
In order to find the complete blessing of this exercise you must dig
down to the deepest place of truth about yourself, and then pour it out in a
prayer to our gracious Lord!
In that light, I must
say:
To those who know me and are
surprised at the above writing-forgive me where I have hidden my weaknesses to
you.
To those who knew me in
college and never knew that I was a child of
Christ-forgive me for where I misled you.
Christ-forgive me for where I misled you.
To my childhood friends with
whom I grew up with and those I now call close; some whom I may have hurt or
disappointed…and some who have wounded me- forgive me where I failed you.
To my siblings-who I count as
my closest friends; whom I look up to more than you will ever know; to whom I
want to give the loyalty of my love-forgive me for the distance I’ve kept and
the times I may have disappointed you!
To my parents-who are loving,
faithful and true; gracious and blessed, amazingly perseverant and tenacious,
strong and steadfast in all you do-including the extent you have shown me
genuine parental love-forgive me for expecting more than your human heart could
give and where I have disappointed you.
To my children who are gifts beyond
measure and blessings I do not deserve; to those 3 humans whom I want to love
and mother with “perfection” but have fallen
short - except by telling you about Christ-forgive me where I have
failed you.
To my husband-of whom, I
confess, I never give enough credit; who has a heart larger and more full of
grace than I could ever possess; who is a wonderful provider, father, example,
friend! To a man through which God
refined and redeemed my life in ways that are truly unexplainable on earth; to
a person that is the most generous and simultaneously the most guarded person I
know: who has taught me deep lessons and bruised my heart more than I thought I
could take and yet filled it with more than I could have ever asked-and
definitely more than I deserve-forgive me for where I have failed you!
To the Lord, MY God, my
creator, mentor, confidant, and friend; On the day you open the Book of Life and seek the goodness of my
heart that was never there; as you seek to find any redeemable qualities in me
that I hid or abused-and though your holy eyes should find me totally unworthy
thank you for the promise that you won’t! You have already looked at my human
form, created in your image, and chose to mark me with a family seal that says
I am accepted as your child! Thank you
for blessing me with an inheritance and a lineage that bestows value and
worth. No words of sorrow can change my
earthly past but, with a heart that is in desperate need of eternal mercy, I ask
that you forgive me for where I have failed you!” Because of your grace, Abba, I know that all is well with my soul.
To the blog reader: May the God of Grace and of the human race;
of heaven and earth know you inside and out as well. May He be THE steadfast hope to which you
cling wherein you KNOW that He will GIVE YOU everything you need! May you know His peace, which is beyond
understanding, and may you know the grace of “this” type of parental nurturing;
may your human heart, in every way possible, overflow with the grace, power and
the love of our heavenly Father,
God!
RvH
To know the depth of the
Lord’s love one must know scripture! It
is that simple! Here are a few passages that apply to this writing:
“And you also
were included in Christ
when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. Having
believed,
you were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, who is a
deposit
guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are
God’s possession-
to the praise of His glory.”
Ephesians 1: 13
“Because he loves me” says the lord, “I
will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges
my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer
him;
I will be with him in trouble, I will
deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and
show him my salvation.”
Psalm 91: 14-15
“The Lord is gracious and righteous;
Our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the simple-hearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul
from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.”
Psalm 116: 5-9
Song Recommendation:
Gracious Tempest
By: Hillsong
Young & Free
