The 23^rd Psalm is the most recognized and most quoted passage of scripture of all time. I wanted to share some things about this common passage of scripture. The New International Version/ Kings James Version of the passage is as follows:

1 – The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing/ I shall not want

2 – He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters.

3 – He refreshes/restores my soul. He leads me along right paths for his name’s sake.

4 – Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.

5 – You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 – Surely your goodness and love/mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

My Interpretation

1 – Sheep only have one master, and it’s the shepherd. They know the sound of that shepherd’s voice among all other voices. In the old days, many shepherds would gather their flocks together at night and put all the different flocks of sheep in the same place. To an outsider, all the sheep looked the same. In the morning, each shepherd would call his flock and amazingly the sheep that belong to that shepherd would emerge from all the other sheep and come together. The sheep never lacked anything, and the shepherd guarded over them. The sheep knew he had everything under control.

Wouldn’t it be great to not want or need anything? That is the image of pure peace in this passage of scripture. The Lord is saying, let me lead and just follow me.

2 – The image of green pastures and quiet waters illustrate the safest places for sheep. Their coats are wool and absorb water; sheep will not drink water from a fast-flowing stream because their coats absorb the water and they could sink to the bottom and drown. Therefore, the image of the quiet water is the only place sheep can drink from; the green pasture is a place of comfort and out of harm’s way.

3 – If we let him, he will restore and refresh our soul, and he will lead us on the right paths. To have your soul restored, you need a period to get your relationship with God back in order. You need a new revelation from God on what the next steps in your life are.

4 – I will fear no evil. Rather, I choose to fear no evil because you are with me. A shepherd uses his rod and staff for many things, like fighting off wild animals or nudging a sheep back on the right path. I find it interesting that we sometimes want to shepherd our own lives without him. If you are in front of the shepherd, you can’t see the rod and staff because they are behind you. The only way to be safe and live without fear is if he is allowed to be in front so you can see him, his rod, and his staff.

5 – Are your enemies in heaven? No, they are here on earth. This passage says: he will see to it that your enemies see you being taken care of by the living God and your cup of life will literally overflow. However, if you want to take this into your own hands and say bad things on Facebook about someone and talk about others behind their back, you are on your own. If you let him lead, he will handle everything. Today, my cup is overflowing because God has been so good to me and my family.

6 – This verse is a confession of faith that God will give you his goodness and mercy every day of your life. As with much of life, it’s a decision and a choice. I choose him, and I choose to dwell with the Lord. KT

In life, sometimes you need to close all the exits. There are decisions in our lives that we need to “abandon” all escape routes and stay with the decision. Sometimes you won’t see success in the short term. Most people will quit and start something else and go from issue to issue because they couldn’t stay long enough with one decision.

There were times in my career when it was stale and stagnant; as we all do, I wondered if this was what I was supposed to be doing. There are situations that you need to move from and there are situations you need to stick with. You and God are the only ones who know the difference. I am not saying that every home, every job, every investment, every friend should be a lifelong decision. As the Bible says, “A wise person sometimes changes his mind,” but that’s not want I am talking about.  What I am referring to are the decisions you know in your spirit/heart is the right one, but because of fear you starting heading for the exit door. Sometimes walking away from the exit door is the very thing God needs to see in us. KT

Dancing With The Stars TV show could be one of the most irritating shows I know of except for The Bachelor, where the guy tries to fake fall in love with 20 women at the same time. Dancing With The Stars new season started this week and the best I can tell, this season will last for 18 years.

All that said, I did see one amazing person on last night’s show that I want to share with you. Her name is Amy Purdy, and she was an Olympic bronze medal winner in the Paralympics in Sochi. Amy is a double amputee with two prosthetic legs below the knee. She was 19 when she contracted bacterial Meningitis and to save her life, both legs were amputated.

She is simply amazing and so very beautiful; she’s not willing to let this thing stop her from her dreams. You should have seen her in the Olympics in snowboard competition, and you should have seen her last night handle herself with such a grace; it was simply stunning.

She could have decided her life was over and forgot her dreams. Today, she is a motivational speaker and athlete telling her story of overcoming this life-changing obstacle. Sometimes there are just things we cannot change in our life, and the only answer is to withdraw or to move forward. Fear, anxiety and intimidation are not things that have to be accepted in life. Life-changing injuries, maybe, but fear is not to be accepted.

Find a new meaning for who you are, what you do, and the reason you do it. People need examples to follow like Amy Purdy, and it should be incumbent on each of us to be what we should be. KT