Prayer
– Lord, I want my strength renewed—revived. I’m just tired and weak—but I know
that You have overcome and are strong. You guide me along Your path—the right
path. I understand it is the narrow trail that may not be an easy route—but it
leads to the right place with You forever. That’s where I want to be. Thank you,
Lord, for hearing my prayer and for all that You provide and do for me, my
family and friends. I want to honor You…and Your name…forever.
The
LORD is my shepherd; 
Just like Kim guided Amelia on the narrow path,
The Lord guides us on His narrow path.
The right path, bringing honor to His name,
Hiking Badger Mountain, Richland.
I
have all that I need.
He
lets me rest in green meadows;
he
leads me beside peaceful streams.
He
renews my strength.
He
guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Even
when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close
beside me.
Your
rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You
prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You
honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My
cup overflows with blessings.
Surely
your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and
I will live in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:1-6 (Verse 3 underlined
for today’s focus.)
Meditate.
Consider God’s strength.
How
strong are you feeling today?
Shepherds had to be pretty strong
back in David’s day. Think about how he fought off lions and bears and then the
great Philistine, Goliath.
"Don't worry about this
Philistine," David told Saul. "I'll go fight him!" "Don't
be ridiculous!" Saul replied. "There's no way you can fight this
Philistine and possibly win! You're only a boy, and he's been a man of war
since his youth." But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my
father's sheep and goats," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to
steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from
its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to
death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan
Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The LORD who
rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this
Philistine!" Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he
said. "And may the LORD be with you!" 1 Samuel 17:32-37
In Psalm
23 David writes that his shepherd, the Lord God, renews his strength and guides
him on the right path. We can be assured that God will do the same for us…if we
are obedient to His will and if we ask.
When was the last time that you choose
to ask God to give you strength? It is surprising how strength in older hands
gets weaker and weaker. As I recently tried to open a jar that was being very
stubborn, I prayed for God to give me strength. Sure enough! God answered my
prayer and gave me a mighty force to get
that jar of pickles open. God is good!
Do you ever ask for spiritual strength? Pleading for wisdom and understanding would be good examples of desiring spiritual fortitude. That is my frequent prayer.
In the focus verse (v.3) David emphasizes
walking on the right path which is the narrow path that leads to eternal life
with Jesus Christ. By allowing our Shepherd, Jesus, to guide us on this path of
His we give honor to Him and to God the Father. Jesus always points us to the Father,
but we have a choice. What is your choice today? Will you walk on that challenging,
narrow path and honor God—or will you take the easy route on the wide path?
Verse
of Salvation ~ But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you
keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God. Psalm 50:23
© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House
Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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