David — Faith — Stylin' Granny Mama

The following are my own musings on Psalm 23. It is a prayer. It is a testament. It is a poem of praise. It is the work of a writer following the inspiration of one of David’s most famous psalms.

*Image by* *António Cascalheira* *from* *Pixabay*

The Lord is my shepherd - You are the one who cares for me. You tend my every wound. You collect my every tear. You always know where I am at every moment of every day.

I shall not want - How could I want anything when You have given me everything? Yet, even in that knowledge, I yearn. Help me to be satisfied with You alone.

You make me lie down in green pastures - Pastures of peace, lush with your provision, and goodness. Pastures of rest. Help me to lie down and know I can rest, because You have provided a place of peace.

*Image by* *Nicholas Demetriades* *from* *Pixabay*

You lead me beside quiet waters - These waters are not tumultuous, they are quiet. They flow along with only a rippling, gurgling whisper. These waters are meant to drink from. You are this living water.

You restore my soul - It is beside the quiet waters that you fill me, quenching my innermost thirst and refreshing me to my very core. Only you can restore on this soul level. You make all things new again.

You guide me in the paths (tracks) of righteousness, for Your name’s sake - These paths are worn. These tracks are easy to follow, because of all who have gone before. Let me be like those who have walked these trails before. Help me to follow hard after your righteousness, so that you are lifted up and glorified, forever; so your name is elevated above all others.

*Image by* *Thomas Ulrich* *from* *Pixabay*

Even though I walk through the valley of deep darkness (the valley of the shadow…of death) - It is inevitable, I will, I am walking through this dark valley. The darkness is - I can’t see my hand in front of my face - darkness. Yet I am upright. I am walking. I have not given up. I have not fainted from the shadowed ones all around me.

I fear no evil, for you are with me - My good shepherd You are here, with me. You are here in this darkness.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me - Your rod is not there to beat me into submission. It is there to guide me, to comfort me. The feeling of your rod at my head, by my side, on my back, remind me You will never leave me. You are the good shepherd and You love Your sheep…You love me. What comfort!

*Image by* *Julie Rothe* *from* *Pixabay*

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies - What a bountiful table this is, full of every good thing. This table is always available for me. All I need to do is come. Why would I not come? My enemies are on every side. Most, I cannot see, but they are doing the will of their master, to bring me grief and turn my eyes away from you. I must come to Your table to refresh and restore.

You have anointed my head with oil - You have lavished me with your riches by anointing my head with oil. You show me that I am set apart for your purposes and my life matters.

*Image by* *Bernd Müller* *from* *Pixabay*

My cup overflows - Again, You show your riches in grace and mercy as you refill my cup over and over again. You remind me, that I am not just a welcomed guest at your table, but your daughter.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life - Just because circumstances are difficult, doesn’t mean you have withdrawn your goodness and love. Indeed, that goodness and lovingkindness are even more pronounced during that valley of darkness. Your character does not change and never will as you journey with me for as long as I live.

And I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever - Dwell, live together, abide, with You, the three in one - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, forever. Amen!

This week and next, I want to look at the trait of faithfulness. Galatians 5:22 lists faithfulness as one of the fruits of the Spirit. Let’s take a step back for a minute and think about the two passages we are looking at that list the traits of a Godly person. 2 Peter 1:1-11 and Galatians 5:16-26. When we compare the two we see many similarities, but the 2 Peter passage seems to put the emphasis for obtaining these Godly traits on us.

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, ”

— 2 Peter 1:5 (NASB)

We are told to apply diligence.

Whereas, Galatians 5 seems to put the emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. It is His fruit that is being brought forth in our lives.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”

— Galatians 5:22 (NASB)

Seeing these two passages separately we might think they are not both talking about the same concept, that of Godly traits, but I believe these go hand in hand, complimenting and enhancing one another in a dance that only the Holy Spirit can direct.

Since we discussed Faith the last two weeks, it seemed fitting to move on to the trait of faithfulness. The definition of faithful goes something like this according to Webster’s Online Dictionary:

1 - steadfast in affection or allegiance

2 - firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty

3 - given with strong assurance

4 - true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original

5 - full of faith

This week I want to focus totally on God’s faithfulness to us.

The book of Psalms is probably one of the clearest books in the Bible on God’s faithfulness. The psalmist, who was most often David, understood the difficulties of life. He fought giants, ran from King Saul who was trying to murder him, committed, not only the sin of adultery by being married and laying with Uriah’s wife, but also had Uriah killed. He was on the run, running the kingdom and messing up, yet he repeatedly saw God’s faithfulness to him. That doesn’t mean he got away with his crimes. His sin found him out and the unrest in his kingdom lasted until his death. For more on David read 1 Samuel 8 - 2 Samuel 24, as well as 1 Chronicles 10 - 23.

Take a look at how the Psalmist describes God’s faithfulness:

“For the word of the Lord is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness.”

— Psalm 33:4 (NASB)

“Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.”

— Psalm 36:5 (NASB)

“I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.”

— Psalm 89:1 (NASB)

“Before the Lord, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.”

— Psalm 96:13 (NASB)

“For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”

— Psalm 100:5 (NASB)

In addition to the psalmist, a man called Jeremiah understood what the faithfulness of the Lord was. If you have a few extra minutes today read Lamentations 3. Read all 66 verses. There are four verses that stand out and that you have probably heard before.

“21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.””

— Lamentations 3:21-24 (NASB)

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

Why is it that both of these writers speak of God’s faithfulness during and after great tragedy or difficulty? I believe, that is when we see God’s faithfulness most clearly. Let’s face it, when life is going well, most of us don’t really think about what is going on behind the scenes. We get food from the grocery store. We go to the doctor if we are sick. We have the Geek Squad to help us with our phones and computers. We don’t really have to think about where the food comes from, or will I be able to get in to the doctor, or even waiting very long to get a problem fixed. We live in a drive up window, instantaneous fix society. When things really go wrong and we have no easy answers, that is the time (hopefully), that we realize how very precious each day is and how faithful God has been to us throughout the years.

I am sure each one of you has a story of God’s faithfulness. I love it when God goes over and above to show me His love in the simplest of things. During an especially difficult time in my life, I was feeling very hopeless. I knew in my mind that God was faithful and that He would work things out, but I felt very alone in my grief. It was spring time and my husband and I decided to take a walk at one of our local parks. In my mind I sent up a prayer to God that went something like this:

“God, I know that You are faithful. I know that You will work all things together for good, but right now, I need to see You. I need to see something to remind me that You are there and that You are at work.”

I have inherited my mother’s love for birds. I don’t have the time to be a true birder, but I always get excited to hear them in the morning, especially in the spring, as birds that left for winter, return. Shortly after I prayed my desperate prayer, I saw a flash of red on the trail before me. Ohio’s state bird is the cardinal, but this was no cardinal. There perched in a tree right along the trail was a Scarlet Tanager (click on the link to see a picture and read more about this bird). If you know the bird I am talking about it is brilliant red with a striking black wing and tail. These birds like to stay hidden in the foliage of oak trees, but there he was, just waiting for me.

I knew that bird was my answer to prayer. It still makes me tear up, knowing that the Almighty God did that for little old me. That is faithfulness. It shows His steadfast affection for His creation and His allegiance to upholding me through every circumstance.

I know some of you who are reading this are going through terrible stuff. God wants to remind you, He is faithful. Always and forever.

I would love to hear your stories of God’s faithfulness in your life. We are all in this journey together, so please share. You never know how your story might encourage someone else and remind them of God’s great faithfulness.

Next week, we will take a look at what our faithfulness should look like and how we can make this Godly trait a regular part of who we are.

Faith Inspiration: Psalm 23

Traits of a Godly Person: Faithfulness - God's