City Life Starter

I. The Word: Psalm 23:1 – 3

1     The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.

By Jason Scherzer

From the sermon this past Sunday, you may recall that the word “paths” in verse 3 could also be translated as “circles”, so that the verse might as well read, “He guides me along the right circles for his name’s sake.” Of course, we will initially think that rendering the word, “circles” doesn’t make much sense in English. Would God lead His dear children in circles?

We tend to believe that our jobs are meaningful when our work has a positive impact on other people, or when we receive positive feedback, which gives us a real sense of accomplishment. What we don’t long for is a sense that we are going in circles.

Yet “circles” is a perfect word for Psalm 23:3 if we consider the terrain where sheep graze on wild grass: the side of a mountain. No shepherd would force the steep climb straight up the mountain to the higher elevation, as the sheep are not good climbers, and neither agile nor strong. So the shepherd circles around the mountain, gradually causing the sheep (unknowingly) to climb to new pasture. New terrain includes the new provision and new challenges.

Habakkuk chapter 3:4 says, “His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.” (Habakkuk 3:4), and  “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakuk3:19. The prophet Habakkuk spoke to God’s people just prior to the Babylonian invasion, a judgment which God allowed because of the people’s sin. Yet God did not abandon His people at this time (or ever abandon them). Through His prophet, God spoke of strength for His true sheep, if they would willingly receive strength from Him. You see, God longs to take His people higher up the mountain, higher than our wildest imagination.

Application:

Is God leading you in paths (circles) of righteousness, higher and higher? 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” In our imperfect, sinful state, we cannot look directly upon Christ. Yet He is making us be ever increasingly like the Son, in character, in perseverance, in strength.

Prayer:

Lord, I am your sheep, the one that you love, for whom you gave your life on the cross so that I can live eternally. Strengthen me in Christ, this day, so that I can climb higher. Oh, I want to climb on the heights, to behold your glory! No matter what the world throws at me today! You are the Good Shepherd, and You alone! No other shepherd can lead so wisely, so perfectly as you do. Give me more of Christ, and less of myself, so that I can love and serve you, going from glory to glory. Amen.