Have you ever been so tired, weary and stressed that you felt that only a rejuvenation could restore you? There are days I feel so stressed out that the only thing that satisfies is a divine quickening. Psalm 23 is a famous passage about the shepherding love of God. In this passage, God is the Shepherd and we are the sheep. The Shepherd tenders the flock in so much love and compassion. The passage begins with: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalms 23:1). The great Shepherd leads the sheep into fruitfulness and abundance: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (Psalms 23:2). Sheep are just unpredictable, they so easily take their own course, leave the Shepherd, manage to get entangled in thickets and thorns and sometimes get lost by leaving the flock. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. (Psalms 23:3) This is a perfect depiction of human nature. We are just unpredictable and this is mainly caused by both internal and external pressures. These pressures can cause us to leave the Shepherd and run our own course: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). As a result of going astray, humanity has to deal with weariness, stress, frustration and sometimes depression. But all hope is not lost because the Lord restores or refreshes our souls. Psalm 23:3 (KJV) states that, “He restoreth my soul.” Other versions use ” He refreshes my soul.” In this verse soul is used to refer to life or spirit. Thus, the Lord gives me life again, He makes me live. When we are exhausted by the pressures of life, the Lord restores us and gives us inner strength to go on. The Lord takes away our burdens and gives us peace. Our souls are refreshed. The Lord refreshes us by taking our weariness and giving us His rest. He then guides us along the right paths for his name’s sake (Psalms 23:3b). The paths of righteousness are full of God’s grace and providence. On the right paths, we can sing that: “Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come. Let this blest assurance control. That Christ has regarded my helpless estate. And has shed His own blood for my soul. It is well. With my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul.” It can only be well with us even in the darkest valleys when the Lord restores our souls. He is our peace even in the storm and the troubles of life. No wonder Jesus could still sleep when the waves were raging and the disciples were stressed out trying to save their lives (Matthew 8:23–27, Mark 4:35–41, Luke 8:22–25). Jesus as the Shepherd restored calmness and gave the disciples peace. Why don’t we take our fears, exhaustion, weariness and brokenness to Him. He will refresh us and lead us into the right paths.
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