Psalm 23 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 23 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Verse 2He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
Verse 3he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
Verse 4Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff- they comfort me.
Verse 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Verse 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Devotion
We lived just a block from the wide river that ran right through the middle of our town. Though its current was fairly swift, compared to the waters of Lake Michigan at its mouth it seemed more like the still waters of Psalm 23. The river was a gift from God, a place of calm as we sat or played on its banks and watched its endless flow.
So much in our lives is chaotic. A world complicated by more technology and less humanity can clutter and fragment us. We try to figure out who we are in a world of other people trying to figure out who they are. We are cruel in words, in actions, in rejection and benign neglect. Sitting by that river gave space for a lot of prayer and for sorting things out, a reminder of how God stills the storms in our lives and leads us beside the still waters of God’s endless love.
Prayer
Living Water of Salvation, in the middle of our chaotic world, lead us beside the still waters. Be the fountain of our soul. Amen.