The more I read the 23rd Psalm, especially verses 1 through 3, the more they speak Psalm 46:10 to my heart, “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 23 has been a part of my meditation since I was a child. I can’t remember whether I memorized it at vacation Bible school or in my elementary school classroom. And even though I was not saved when I learned it, it made a profound impact on my life then and throughout my life.
As I meditated on Psalm 23 this morning, I was invigorated with a deeper revelation of verses 1-3’s connection with Psalm 46:10. David, the psalmist, begins with The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. God is my Shepherd—my master, my leader, my protector, my provider—and as I follow him, he takes care of every need that I could possibly have. That is who he is. I can rest in his loving care, that is I can be still and know that he is God!
Verse 2 states: He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. (There is a colon after “pastures” in this verse. That colon means that the information that follows it will amplify/explain the information that precedes it.) So, when I am “lying down in green pastures”—I am “resting beside still waters.” In those times, when the Lord leads me beside still waters, like David’s sheep, I am relinquishing control and letting God be God. I am setting aside my own agenda and my preconceived ideas. It becomes all about God, my protector, my deliverer, my source of all things! I am lying down in “green pastures and resting “resting beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:2)
The process of resting in him (verses 1 and 2), then moves me into verse 3. Part a of verse 3 reads: He restoreth my soul. That notes that God is bringing healing and deliverance to my weary soul. Just as sheep gets rest and safety from the grueling weather and treacherous animals, I can rest from the storms of life, knowing that God has everything under control.
So, now that I have allowed God to take control and he has brought healing and rest from my weariness, he is able to direct me as 3b notes. Then God, my Shepherd leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Resting in the Lord allows him to set the direction for my life. In my rest, I have a knowing in my heart that God is taking me in the right direction. I also have a knowing that God is in control even in difficult times! It is a knowing that all is well with my soul!
Horatio G. Spafford so aptly fulfilled Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God, when he pinned the song, “It Is Well with my Soul” in 1873. Spafford had lost his four year old son, Horatio Jr. of scarlet fever in 1870. Then in 1873, he lost his four remaining children, four daughters, when the steamship, Ville du Havre, sank while they were on the way to England. His wife was found unconscious, but his daughters had perished. Spafford’s faith never faltered. He remained steadfast, being “still and knowing that God is God.” In returning home, some accounts note that upon passing over the site where the Ville du Havre sank, Spafford went back to his cabin and wrote the hymn, “It Is Well with my Soul.” They had three more children, but a son, named Horatio, after him and his dead brother also passed away. Like Spafford, we can rest, knowing that God is in control, my friends!
So where are you? Are you being still and allowing the Lord to take control of your life, knowing that you are being led in the path of righteousness? God will never leave us or forsake us!
I leave you with this stanza from Spafford’s hymn: “Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to know, it is well, it is well with my soul.”
Be blessed.
Scripture References:
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will f8nd rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Exodus 33:14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
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