To those who have gone through counseling with a real Christian counselor or in recovery, Psalm 23 is known as the recovery Psalm.

Let us dissect this Psalm and I’ll try not to get too preachy. First of all this Psalm and blog is a good one for Palm Sunday.

First of all this Psalm is only 6 verses.

In verse 1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” Now shepherd is another name for Jesus and God. A shepherd watches over the sheep and livestock. He protect them from all harm. We are like sheep, and have a tendency to go astray. We try to do things on our own, saying, “we don’t need God.” The world is a lot like that. We want to be self-reliant, not depending on anyone. We become impatient with God and so we have a tendency to do it ourselves. A saying I heard a lot growing up was, “If you want something done, do it yourself.” We have a tendency in not asking for help either on the job or in life in general. We’ll say, “I can handle it.” It saved a lot of headache. Then when we mess up, we get mad at ourselves and wondered why bad things are happening to us. When things are looking grim and we’re are heading into a disaster, we should say, “Jesus,take the wheel.” When we finally let go and let Jesus take the wheel, He’ll see us through it.

In verse 2, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. For those who lived on a farm, they know all about lying down in green pastures. On our farm, there was a huge rock in the pasture near a slough. It was a quiet place to go and sit to relax; and meditate,getting one with nature. Just laying in the sun in the green pasture will do wonders for our spirit. The idea of being one with nature.

Have you ever been by or on a lake or any body of water? It’s very relaxing. It calms your spirit. One of the best thing about fishing is just being on the lake, when it’s nice and calm. When, a speed boat goes by making huge waves, it takes away the calmness and tranquil of the water. My step-dad hated it when those boats go by causing waves.

Every summer, I try to make it Lake Geneva near Alexandria,Minnesota in August around my birthday. Even though there’s a church retreat there, the real reason for the tranquility is being by the lake. It’s very peaceful and relaxing. That’s the best part of summer. Since going there since 2000, I now understand why a pastor would love going up to the mountain to be one with nature. A person can meditate and not worry about a thing. You can get away from the craziness of the world and big city. Anyone who still love the city life, haven’t discovered the tranquility of being one in nature by the lake or in the mountain. As crazy as the world is getting, I would say, “Just give me a cabin in the woods and I’ll be happy.” There are probably some who will disagree, but there are some who agree. I happened to know a young gentleman who happened to think like me, and would prefer a cabin in the woods as well.

In verse 3, “He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Once again, the shepherd (Jesus Christ) gives us guidance. Without Jesus guiding us, we have a tendency of going astray.

In verse 4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”We’ll be like shadows in the moonlight. As the world is becoming scarier, this is comforting to know that our Lord and Savior is right there beside us. When you’re going out on your own, it can be scary. It’s good to know that you are not alone. You don’t have to go alone in life. Believe me, after being abused and molested, I felt very much alone. I felt that there wasn’t anyone out there who could help me. I was taught that men and/or boys must be tough and suck it up and deal with it. If you ever walked with someone holding hands in the dark, it’s very comforting.

A rod is used for discipline. A staff is used to whack wayward sheep back onto the safe path. The rod warded off predators and the staff was a guiding tool. Moses had a staff that God was able to used to help Moses persuade the Egyptian to let the people of Israel go.

In verse 5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil;my cup overflows.” Who in their right mind like sitting at a table with their enemies? As a rule,you do all you can to avoid being anywhere near your enemies. If you have been molested, you try to avoid being alone with that person. Sometimes, though, it’s not easy to do. After I was molested as a child, I didn’t much wanted to be around my step-brother; which was impossible, being we shared a room together. When I was sick and he came to picked me up from school, believe me, I was scared to go anywhere with him;but once again, I couldn’t tell anyone. I have a confession here, when he got hit by a car while on his bike, I was hoping that he wouldn’t make it,then the abuse would stop.

In verse 6, “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

This Psalm is a comfort for those going through any recovery no matter what it is. It’s good to know that you are not alone. You don’t have to go it alone. The Lord is our shepherd. It’s a comfort to have someone who can walks beside you and helped carry the load. As Joey had told me, the reasons wolves hangs out in packs, is because they looked out for one another.

If you are going through some form of recovery, no matter what it is, read Psalm 23 and seek help immediately either from a good counselor, a friend who will stand by you or a pastor. At the same time, be sure that you can trust that individual so that you don’t get hurt by them as well. The most important, tell it to Jesus. He already knows our pain anyway.

If you can,find a place to get away and alone with Jesus. You may not be able to get a cabin in the woods, or by a lake, or in the pasture, just find a place of comfort and someone who you are comfortable with. The most importance is to seek help; so that it doesn’t fester up. When things fester up, it could become infected.

If this blog is speaking to you and you find yourself in need of help,please seek help immediately. There’s help out there. Call the Hotline, a pastor of a church, a counselor, or a good friend. You can even push the like and add your comment. If you’re a Christian,you can tell it to Jesus.