Psalm 23

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
⁴ Yea, 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.
⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.


This passage has infiltrated my life this week. It seems to be everywhere, coming at me from every angle, and different people and situations.

So here's the deal...

On Saturday I forced myself to get on the ball about applying for this sweet PE job in Tampa, FL at a Christian high school. Resume and cover letter were sent via email and the application itself was going in the mail to be sent overnight on Monday.

It was Monday. At school, it was another day. In life, I was spiritually parched. At lunch, while I'm praying for my food, I end up on a tangent prayer asking God to clearly reveal to me the next step in His plans for me. 2:30 - school ended.

As I'm heading out of the parking lot, I get the feeling that I should go home and check my email before heading to the post office to apply for what seems like my dream job. Email received on Monday March 16 from Heather Brown (HR Director at Northside Christian Schools) - "Ms. Byrd, Unfortunately we are no longer filling this position. Thank you for your interest in Northisde Christian School."

genked.

At this moment I'm sitting on the couch trying to rack my brain of any other possibilities. Check out another website - they basically say they're not hiring. Another - nothing. And another - still nothing.

Disappointment, anxiety, and fear flood my heart. What's God's plan?

I really don't know and I still don't. At first, I sided with staying here - just wait another year until hopefully the job market is a little better. However, contrary to what I thought would be the case, the thought of staying here in Harrisonburg, (even though leaving would be so sad), seemed weird and not right for a bit.

Then came discipleship preparations. Elizabeth George rocked my face.

Psalm 23 clearly states that "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." I've known that this is what it's said since I was little. But now I see that what it's telling me is that God has been, is, and will continue to take care of me and provide for all of my needs, so I don't have to want for anything.

I've always thought myself to be faithful, but honestly I'm a little terrified. For now, I'm choosing to stick to my guns and go to Tampa unless God tells me no. I desire His will for my life and right now I'm not sure what that is, but if it's moving to Tampa without a job, I'll do it - I won't be thrilled in the beginning, but I'll do it - shaky knees and all.

All of this is kind of easy to type up on the web and post, but the action behind it is the hardest part. Right now, my thoughts and intentions are in the right place, but my willing actions may not be so quick and eager to follow...

God makes us a lot of promises and He doesn't back down from them. In Psalm 23 alone we see that He will lead us, guide us, comfort us, feed us, protect us, restore us, give us rest, be with us, anoint us, and provide us with Eternal life - we shall not want.

I suppose my prayer at this point is for increased faith and decreased worry and anxiety. For a quieted heart and mind to hear Him speak and opened eyes to follow Him closely.


"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want..."