Psalm 23 Continued…
Psalms 23:3a He restores my soul.
Before he was a king, David was a shepherd. So, his words come from experiences. When he says that our Shepherd restores my soul. That is important and powerful.
Another psalmist wrote the words: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 43:5) That word “downcast” comes from the shepherding industry. It is literally a position that sheep get into that they cannot get out of.
Sheep are built in such a way that when they fall over on their side and they try to right themselves they end up on their back with their legs just shaking up and they can’t get up. And no matter how hard they kick and bleat and cry out, they are stuck. They are stuck and they are vulnerable.
What happens physiologically to them is that gas starts forming in their stomach and starts choking off their airways and they can suffocate in just a matter of hours. And on top of that their legs go numb. They need someone who will set them right. That’s where the shepherd comes in to restore them.
So, the shepherd comes and he kneels by the sheep and he starts to rub the legs of the sheep to get the circulation flowing again. And all the time he is doing that he is speaking very lovingly and affectionately to the sheep. “It’s going to be alright. Shhh. It will be okay.” Then he will turn the sheep over but he keeps his hands underneath the belly of the sheep.
He will lift up because the legs are too wobbly. And, finally, when the shepherd feels the equilibrium has returned, he will gently and lovingly let the sheep go.
When we are flat on our backs flailing with all of our grief and grudges and guilt and we are overwhelmed and wonder how in the world will we ever get over this, the Good Shepherd comes and with loving words and tender hands, he rights us. He holds onto us. He makes sure we can stand under His strength.
You see, the Shepherd wants to relieve our grief. Grief is so hard for those who are in the midst of it. David gives us an example of dealing with grief in Scripture in 2 Samuel 12.
2 Samuel 12:22-23 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
David understood that this was a situation that could not be changed. However hard it is for any of us who have lost someone, that same realization must set in for us as well. We cannot change what has happened. But…we can pray. David wrote in Psalm 37:5: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.” Instead of staying in the place of devastation, pray and believe that God will help you through the situation.
And, most importantly, focus on what is left, not what it lost. In 2 Samuel 12 we read that David and Bathsheba had another child together. It wasn’t a replacement child. Because losing that child was horrible. But it was the reality that there is still goodness left in spite of loss. There is a future that God still has for you in spite of losing someone you loved.
The Bible is amazing in that there are no human experiences (no matter how you much you may feel like no one knows what you are going through) where we cannot find comfort from. Our Good Shepherd does not want us to stay paralyzed by our grief. He wants to restore us. He wants to be Yahweh Rapha. Our Healer.
The prophet Isaiah wrote: He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives…to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. (Isaiah 61:1-3)
PRAY
Father, thank you that I am not alone. That you are near and that you love me and help me.