Blessed Assurance

This I know; for God is for me_ Ps 56:9

It has been called the psalm for all seasons. No one doubts it is not. Psalm 23 evokes unwavering confidence and assurance.

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” It means I shall not lack anything. It is statement of faith. I may not have “it” now but in the presence of God I know I will have it. I may not have anything now but tomorrow I shall have something.

Hasn’t He said to ask without doubting? Don’t doubt. Be patient and don’t panic. Above all don’t murmur nor be discontent. “Content is the philosopher's stone which turns all it touches into gold; happy is he who has found it. Content is more than a kingdom, it is another word for happiness.”

“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.”

Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

I may not see the green now. The sun may be too hot and the grass has withered. But I know this is a passing set-back. In the evening the clouds will gather. In the night it will rain. In the morning it shall be green again. So don’t worry. Don’t be anxious.

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?’ (Mat 6:25-30).

The river he carries us through is the silent one. No breaking of waves. No rocks slicing through the water, shaking it, and menacing it with the fear of death. I hear Him when He speaks because there is no noise in the river. “Be still, and know that I am God.” He does that every day. But often we don’t hear for the din that washes over us like a flood.

Shut out that noise. Get out among the flowers. Take a walk in the forest. Climb the mountain and behold the world below. Remove pen and paper and begin to take notes as you immerse yourself only in Him, the Word.

 “My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

 Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

What time I am afraid I will trust in God. The soul that had sunk He has brought it to the surface again. The water that had been muddied is clear again. I draw water from it and I am filled all day and night.

So what shall I fear? He leadeth me. Haven’t I prayed to him to teach me? And hasn’t He promised that is exactly what He will do?

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Ps 32:8).

This I know; for God is with me; “therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.”

Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Though I am walking through it now, or though it shall come to meet me on my way, “I will fear no evil.”  whom shall I fear when thy presence is ever with me? It is enough, O Lord, that I am not alone. You walk before me and I follow. The beast will not devour me. Yes. Because your rod and your staff they comfort me;  “the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

 “Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident”- that you will not fail me nor forsake me.

“The worst evils of life are those which do not exist except in our imagination… We feel a thousand deaths in fearing one.”

Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Your promises have engulfed me. I have drunk them and I am full to the brim; “my cup runneth over.” Look on the bright side. Recall the past favours and soon your cup will be overflowing.

Know the privileges of God, the promises of God. don’t ever lose sight of them. they are your “wills,” they are your inheritance.

They are your “goodness” and they stretch from the bank of God to eternity. It is all yours. It shall eventually be all yours. What a blessed assurance! What I had neither asked or thought, it has come to pass. It shall remain that way for eternity.

Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I love that utmost confidence of the psalmist, as if he would say, “Surely? What lack I now? Nothing! ” So what is preventing you to be joyous and happy? Haven’t you got Him all?  “Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul” (Jer 32:41).  

So why should you fear? Can you muster that confidence, that belief? It is the faith which conjures up God as a high tower, a rock, a fortress, a buckler, and a pavilion. Mark well that strength. Mark well that safety. “So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.”

Therefore “Doest thou well to be angry for the gouard?”

Faith glorifies God. Trust glorifies God. Contentment glorifies God. Therefore don’t fear to show it, even to shout aloud about it from the rooftops.

You may not have it now but faith says it will come. You will have it. It is all yours if you ask in faith. The psalmist knew the God he believed in. He knew He was the God of all possibilities.

God grant you the grace to believe that. God grant you that Blessed Assurance. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my savior all the day long. What is your story, what is your song?