You Belong: Meditations from Psalm 23

 Yes, You Heard Correctly: YOU BELONG!

The past few weeks I've been drawn to Psalm 23. I've been asking the Holy Spirit why I've been drawn to this passage of scripture and hear Him saying, "I'm unpacking treasures of my truth." So I've responded with: "Show me the treasures!" So here we are on this journey of unpacking some of the treasures packed in Psalm 23. 

These truth-gifts all hinge on WHO God is to us and for us, as believers in Jesus. WHO He is, calls us into a place of BELONGING because He loves us and wants us to wake up to the full reality that we're His sons and daughters. In Psalm 23 God is our Best Friend, Shepherd, Lover, Restorer, Strength, Peace, Comfort, Anointing, and the One who satisfies our souls. WHO God is to us becomes clearer as we commune with friend Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent to be our guide (Luke 24:49). 

I am always your best friend and your shephered. 

The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. 

I always have more than enough. 

Psalm 23:1 TPT

Pause. Do you see this? 

The Holy Spirit is saying, "You always have more than enough because I am your supply." 

So when I feel empty all I need to do is reconnect and come to you? I don't need to beat myself up for...?? 

"No. I'm asking you to find your supply of belonging, your complete friendship in me. I'm asking that you find your guidance in me alone." 

Wow. So what you're really asking me to do is to slow down my thoughts and my schedule to receive acceptance from you first, God? And as I go about my day trust that I can count on you to supply all I have need of, right? 

"Yes." 

This is huge. Pause. So when my kids are acting out and the appliances are breaking, and we're late to.... you want me to pause and rely on your more than enough supply of friendship and leadership? 

"Yes, because I love you and I want to be your abundant supply of all you have need of."

He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That's where he restores and revives my life. Psalm 23:1-3a TPT

Where does he restore and revive me? First He offers a resting place in His luxurious love, then He restores and revives me as I follow Him on His peaceful tracks. Verse 3b "He opens before me pathways to God's pleasure and leads me along his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name." Phew! I don't have to figure out how to please God. He himself leads me like a shepherd on pathway to God's pleasure. His path takes help me walk in the ways of righteousness so I bring honor to God's name. As I follow Him, I become God's pleasure and He is mine. And I bring honor to His name. It's a two-for-one! My heart is set on honoring and pleasing Him, but God himself shows me how as He leads and guides me. Did I hear someone say, "It's time to brush off the striving?" Well, we should! Our good God is leading us in His way-- to bless His heart and draw us close to himself as our best friend and shepherd. 

I offer a resting place for you in my luxurious love. My tracks take you to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. (Psalm 23:2)

I love the TPT footnote for verse 2 about his luxurious love. It says, "The Greek word for 'love' is agape, which is a merging of two words and two concepts. Ago means 'to lead like a shepherd,' and pao is a verb that means 'to rest.' Love is our Shepherd leading us to the place of true rest in his heart." Isn't that so good?! We've been invited into real rest. Deep rest. The rest that we're chosen, we belong, and we're safely hidden in the One who chooses us each morning when we wake up! 

And what's more is that His tracks take us to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. As I've sat pondering what this really means, I've sensed the Holy Spirit saying that this isn't a literal place; the oasis of peace and the quite brook of bliss are actually a place we get to internally when our hearts are set on God. When we commune with the Holy Spirit, as we go about our day, he delivers a deep peace to our hearts, our minds and our bodies. Our insides know He cares for us. We are kept in His luxurious love and our minds and hearts find their home in Him. They are settled no matter what's going on around us. We get to choose to rest in the reality that our God is our best friend and our shepherd and the reality of who he is brings us into a surety of heart, mind, and body that we're at peace. This is incredible. 

Do you feel the weightiness of the opportunity to enter into another realm of being? We can be at peace all the time just because we're invited into the unlimited supply of His peace.

Even when my path takes you through the valley of deepest darkness fear will never conquer you, for I already have! 

Psalm 23:4 has always been hard for me. Why would God lead me through valleys of deep darkness? I'm learning as I grow more mature in my walk with God that He takes me down paths that I don't envision because my life isn't always about me. Sometimes He wants me to stop for "the one" that's going through a difficult season. As with my personal story, sometimes He calls us to spend the rest of our life serving and loving people that are broken and need a huge hug from the healer Himself. (That doesn't mean I become the Healer; it simply means I listen for His still small voice to minister out of His overflow of grace and love.) Our steps of obedience aren't always rewarded with an easy path, but I'm encouraged to take comfort in David's declaration in vs. 4:

Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way. Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I'll never be lonely, for you are near.

Fear cannot conquer you.  

Declare this: "Fear cannot conquer me because Jesus already has!" That's a powerful truth. On the path that's dark, that doesn't make sense, but you've followed the Great Shepherd there-- fear cannot conquer you because Jesus' choosing you already has conquered you. He's already taken up residence in your heart and your mind. Fear has no space to rule and reign. YES!!! I'm preaching to myself these powerful reminders. God will remain close to us in the dark places and lead us each through them ALL the way. Not part-way. ALL THE WAY. That's a comfort, right?! We won't be left for dead. We won't be left halfway unfinished. In fact God's will and His plan is good for us because in Psalm 16:5-6 David says, "Lord, I have chosen you alone as my inheritance. You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion. I leave my destiny and its timing in your hands. Your pleasant path lead me to pleasant places. I'm overwhelmed by the privileges that come with following you, for you have given me the best!" 

And then David says in Psalm 23:4b, "Your authority is my strength and my peace..." 

Do you realize that, as citizens of heaven, we've been given the same authority that Jesus had to command the things that are not to come into being? 

We've already been told we will walk in greater works than Jesus,-- those who believe will lay their hands on the sick and see them made well, blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear, the dead will be raised, and the demonically oppressed set free (Mark 14:14-18). We have the authority to call forth life in dead places. We have authority in Christ to call forth healing and breakthrough, not only in our own lives, but in the lives God calls us to touch. His authority is our strength and our peace. We can actually walk in greater strength and peace through connecting with and acting with the authority Christ has paid to give us. 

Stop and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal more of his power and how you can partner with him to step into a greater level of his authority in your life. You were meant to live a life of miracles. *

The remainder of Psalm 23:4b reads: "...The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I'll never be lonely, for you are near." 

Pause. The resting place of His luxurious love back in verse 2 comes back into play; His love is a comfort that removes fear. Not only is fear not allowed to conquer us, but if it tries it will be removed by the powerful love that Father God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have for each one of us. His luxurious love for YOU devours the enemy's tactics to disarm your safe place in God's arms. Our resting place in His love is what anchors us, binds us to his comfort, and keeps us from fear's grasp. Pause. Let that sink in. You are loved, safe, and wanted. You and I are not owned by fear. Our God is our best friend who challenges the fear that tries to rob our hope in the truth that (vs 6) "Your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life." We are the ones who are never lonely because our God is near to us. He is the best friend to us that does stick closer than a brother. 

I am Your Delicious Feast & I Anoint You

Yes! Our God has become our delicious feast even when our enemies dare to fight. He anoints us with the fragrance of the Holy Spirit and gives us all we can drink until our hearts' overflow. (Rewritten truth taken from vs 5).  So we can enjoy the pleasures of our God's presence and all He is to us; we can "feast" on His being-- inviting all Jesus has paid for to be our portion. It's time to step into fully into believing who He's called us to be: lovely and fully loved Ones welcomed into the courts of heaven. That means we carry the realitites of heaven here on earth right now! We are ambassadors of Christ carrying the very presence and possibilities of heaven wherever we go.

We are desired and given full authority by our King God EVEN while our enemies dare to fight. We're invited to feast on God's goodness to us, His truth to us, Who He Calls us to be-- to rise up even when our enemies dare to fight. Even when the thoughts of fear, intimidation, insecurities, inadequacies, rejection, and past failures swirl around us, we can choose feast on WHO Jesus is to us and who He calls us to be because of His finished work on the cross. We are His and He is ours in the midst of a chaotic world, in the midst of the unknown, and the unforeseen. We can rest in His luxurious love, letting Him comfort us, and feed us with His truth in the middle of the mess. It's all going to be ok because HE is with us and for us all we have need of. [This is where you let your hair down and sigh. Breathe. You're safe. You're loved. You're wanted. You belong.]

No Fear of the Future!

So why would I fear the future? For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I'll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you! 

Pslam 23:6 TPT

Yeah... why would I fear the future if I believe that God's goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life? We already know the end of the story: when our life is through we will be forever with our God! No more pain. No more tears. But in the now, in the meantime, in the waiting-- He is pursing us with His goodness and His love. Oh God! Let us rest in this truth. Let it become our reality so that it literally eats up the lies that try to open the door to fear. Fear is only allowed in if we let it fester past the initial tantilizing thought-- it's only allowed to rule and reign in our belief system if we let it remove our reality that we are comforted by the luxurious love of our Father God that destroys loneliness and fear of the future. 

"What will you believe?" becomes the question we face. The truth is we belong because of WHO our God is to us and who He calls us to be. Will you step up higher into your rightful place of belonging as a Son or Daughter of the King of kings? Now's your time to say, "YES!"

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*Suggested Reading:

When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to Living a Life of Miracles by Bill Johnson

Authority From God: How & Why You Can Kick the Devil Out of Your Life by Randy Clark

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