Peace on Earth & Peace in Me: Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd. These five simple words have brought comfort to millions across generations. In this season finale exploring Psalm 23, we journey through one of the most beloved passages in scripture, written by King David from his perspective as both a shepherd and a king. 

What makes this psalm so powerful isn't just its poetic beauty, but its deeply personal promises. God doesn't just lead us - He makes us rest when we need it. He doesn't just guide us - He restores our very souls. And when we encounter those inevitable dark valleys, He doesn't redirect us around them but walks through them with us.

Whether you're traversing a dark valley right now or enjoying green pastures, remember that the Shepherd who watches over you is personally invested in your well-being. Your relationship with Him isn't dependent on your performance but on His faithful character and everlasting love.

Ready to experience the comfort of being personally shepherded by God? Listen now, and let ancient words bring present peace to your heart and mind.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Life Out Loud

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Ciao and welcome to Life Out Loud. I am your host, desiree Melfi-Bozzo. We are going to use this space to share experiences and help you find lasting, unshakable, unwavering, unmessable. With joy and gratitude. We're going to be throwing around encouragement a little bit like confetti, and giving you support to live your very best life. Ciao, friends.

Speaker 2: 0:31

Welcome to episode eight of season four of the Life Out Loud podcast. I am the creator and your host, desiree Melfi-Bozzo. We have reached the end. This is the season finale, if you've hung around here. This season we focused on prayers in scripture that have shaped the world, so we covered the Lord's Prayer. God suited us up for battle with Ephesians 6. We leaned into the protection of God with Psalm 91. We learned how to go from rock bottom to overflowing with Hannah and Jabez. We prayed about immeasurably more from Ephesians 3. And last episode, we learned about repentance and restoration from the great King David in Psalm 51.

Speaker 2: 1:21

Today we're stepping into perhaps one of the most beloved passages in scripture Psalm 23. It was written by King David and has comforted hearts for thousands of years with its timeless promises. We're never alone, we are never abandoned and we are always cared for by our good shepherd. David's Psalm 23 reflects his intimate relationship with God, and David drew on his experiences as a shepherd to give us such vivid imagery. Scholars believe that Psalm 23 was written later in David's life. It was after the dangers and the betrayals and the hardships, and he was reflecting a deep trust in God that only comes with great maturity.

Speaker 2: 2:19

Psalm 23 is super short. It's six verses and it reads the Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths. For his name's sake, even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff. They comfort me. Verse five you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely, your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Speaker 2: 3:06

Psalm 23 is incredibly popular. That being said, it isn't for everyone. There's a tiny little word in verse one that everything hinges on. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. Did you catch it? Everything hinges on the tiny little word my David doesn't say the Lord is a shepherd, or even the shepherd David declares the Lord is my shepherd. It takes God, jehovah Rohi, from being distant and out there to personal and close and intimate in here. And I'm pointing to my heart it's not enough for God to be the shepherd of our churches and our homes. He has to be ours, yours, mine, personally, in our hearts. One commentary says unless he is my shepherd, then the rest of Psalm, unless he is my shepherd, then the rest of the Psalm doesn't belong to me. On the other hand, if he really is mine and I really am his, then I have everything in him and I encourage you today to figure out what it means to get to know the Lord as your shepherd, and go do that.

Speaker 2: 4:28

Verse two and three read. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right path for his name's sake.

Speaker 2: 4:42

The Hebrew of still waters means beside waters of rest. He leads us not aimlessly, but intentionally. God shows up and leads us intentionally. It's not hurried and it's not harsh. It's present. He shows us how to relinquish, control and guide and lead with love.

Speaker 2: 5:07

The restoration of our souls is an indication of life and vitality returning to us. I love verse two. He makes me lie down. Sometimes we need that right In our homes. Are we creating still waters, or are spouses and children drowning in stress and pressure and chaos? We have to think about these things so we can make them better.

Speaker 2: 5:37

When David penned that God guides us on the right path for his namesake. We have to remember that in ancient times the very reputation of the shepherd depended on how well the sheep were cared for. God's loving guidance has nothing to do with us, and it has everything to do with God. What a good and faithful and loving shepherd he is to us. He shows us how to be properly cared for, so then we can properly care for the people in our lives as well. God is a perfect model of a good shepherd.

Speaker 2: 6:16

Verse 4 of Psalm 23 says even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff. They comfort me. To understand the depth of this, we have to remember David's humble beginnings. He was a shepherd before he was ever a king. David understood the deadly terrain in the desert of Judah. There were steep, narrow ravines that literally like valleys. To traverse the darkest valleys, or as the King James Version calls them, the valley of the shadow of death, were dark and treacherous paths that shepherds and sheep had to pass through to get from one pasture to another. Maybe there are dark valleys that you're traversing through right now, or seasons that you're walking into, that are going to test everything you have in order to get you through them. God never promised to keep us out of the valley, but he always promised to walk through them with us. David knew what it was like to walk on paths where the dark shadows concealed real danger. One misstep for him and it was over. David walked confidently in these places because he knew, without a doubt, to the gut of his soul, that God was with him.

Speaker 2: 7:36

Where God is, there can be no fear. I'm going to say it again for the people in the back when God is, there can be no fear. The reason is because fear is from the enemy and the enemy cannot stand in the presence of Jesus. I want to take us through the last two verses of Psalm 23. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely, your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Speaker 2: 8:13

In verse 5 we move from the valley to the banquet where the shepherd is our host. He sets a table of provision and peace right in the middle of chaos. When the people we do life with are privy to this beauty, they realize that they can trust God too. When our children and our spouses see us trusting God, it invites them in and they realize they can trust him too. I love the anointing with oil that David refers to.

Speaker 2: 8:56

To understand this imagery, I'm going to take you back out to the fields, to when David was a shepherd. David's adorable little sheep and let me stop now. I have to pause. In my mind they're adorable. The reality is they probably weren't adorable and leaned a little on the dirty and smelly side. That's fine. I imagine these cute little sheep would come to David with cracked skin and scratches from the days traversing and various wounds from situations they got themselves into, and the oil was a healing balm that soothed the scratches and wounds.

Speaker 2: 9:36

Friends, I can't help but think about us, the wounds we have from situations we found ourselves in Hurting places that we didn't deserve. Sorrow that hangs heavy over us, scratches and wounds that maybe sometimes we walk directly into right, like, let's be honest, some of them we've gotten ourselves into ourselves. My loves, there is one thing though, my loves, there is one thing though I know for sure, and I know it as sure as I have breath in my lungs. God longs to soothe the hurts that life on this side of heaven has left us with. God pours out healing in more than enough. So ask him for it, receive it and let him restore the hurting places, because I promise you as sure as I am talking, he will. He will restore the hurt, he will restore your heart, he will restore you to life before the pain.

Speaker 2: 10:49

Verse 6 finished Psalm 23,. With surely, your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This word follow is actually stronger. In the Hebrew it means to pursue or to chase down. This is saying my goodness, which are his active blessings and his mercy, which is actually his loyal love. This isn't casual. They are in relentless pursuit of you, relentless pursuit of you Even on your worst day. God's mercy is chasing you down when you feel like you're failing. His goodness hasn't stopped flowing my loves. If you showed up weary, todayite him to restore your soul. If you're unsure, let him guide your steps. If you've messed up, let his mercy renew you.

Speaker 2: 12:02

I want to end this season and this episode praying over you, a prayer inspired by Psalm 23. Praying over you, a prayer inspired by Psalm 23. Our God, our Jehovah-Rohi, our fearless shepherd, today we rest in the truth that you're here with us. We lack nothing because of you. God, guide us along the paths of right. Standing with you, give us your peace, restore our weary souls, protect us, guide us and comfort us, and we ask all of this in Jesus's mighty name. Amen. Friends, I hope you enjoyed this season. Come back next time and, if I can be completely transparent, I'm not entirely sure when next time is going to be, but come back for season five. We're going to throw more encouragement and more scripture around like confetti. You already know that when you get close enough, you're going to get some on you and remember, no matter what no matter where life takes you.

Speaker 2: 13:13

no matter where your days take you, there is always something to be thankful for. Thank you for sharing this time with me. Thank you for sharing this space with me, Ciao.

Speaker 1: 13:30

Thank you for joining me, desiree Melfi Bozzo, for this episode of Life Out Loud. I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment, tell me what topics you want to talk about and how you take your coffee. If you enjoyed what you heard, text a friend the link. Share it on social media. If you enjoyed what you heard text a friend the link. Share it on social media. Or if you're interested in becoming a supporter, beep up over to my webpage, lifeoutloudme, and sponsor a cup of coffee that keeps this podcast fueled. Until next time, sweet listeners.