Psalm 23 (NRSV)
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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
I love to baptize! It has to be one of my favorite things I get to do. I love it because of the way it brings community together to make promises to the newly baptized and their family. We promise, as the church body, to take care of this (often) little one as he or she grows and is raised in the faith.
After the baptism is over, I generally will hold the child, or walk out with the older person, so that the congregation can see him or her. When it is a baby, I often will ask the children to tell me what they notice. They often say words like cute, sweet, little and helpless.
We then connect the dots. This little, cute, sweet and helpless baby would be lost without the care from his or her parents or guardians. If they did not feed and clothe the child, the child would not be okay. And in the same way, we say that God provides our everything.
Without God, we are missing the very thing that gives us life. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Those words, those few words, sum everything up so wonderfully. God provides; we are blessed. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
God our rock, thank you for so graciously pouring out your love for us. Lead us to a place of realization and rest in the promise that you are our Shepherd, and we shall not want. Amen.