Psalm 23 is a psalm that most of us can quote by heart, but how often do we really meditate on the precious promises held within its words? I shall not want. God will always lead me. God will restore me. God will never leave me. On and on the promises go.
This week we are studying the book of Haggai, specifically chapter 2. I always look forward to the insight that Pastor Jim and our other ministers provide when they dive into these tough passages. From what I understand through my own studying, the Haggai 2 God offers a promise. The promise is a blessing that continues throughout our lives. Even when it seems like God has left us on our own, that blessing is actually still permeating, and God is working through the difficult times of life.
This promise is something that I have come to learn to recognize in a personal way – even during a time of my life that I rejected God and wanted nothing to do with Christ, I was being led to right back to him. The hymn “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” has long been one of my favorite reflections of Psalm 23, but it has become even dearer to me within the last two years. As I began to realize that my journey through life has culminated in a clearer understanding of who God really is, I cannot help but thank God for being my great shepherd.
The King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his,
And he is mine forever.
Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul he leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow
With food celestial feedeth.
Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love he sought me,
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home rejoicing brought me.
And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within thy house forever. (Henry W. Baker)
- Shelton