The LORD, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 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 have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever .
So here is the reality of The Nineteen days. We never know when we are living them out. The Guidry’s are not really unique in this experience. I would guess that everyone of you has walked through their own Nineteen Days, innocent of the storm that was just over the horizon. The fact is that this was not my first journey through the Nineteen Days, but it is my first journey through them where I truly understood David’s heart as he penned this Psalm. How we walk out the Nineteen Days is a function of this Psalm. Sentence by sentence it is a guide written by a man who walked through his own Nineteen Days many times over.
He makes me lie down in green pastures
What a lovely picture in words. We can all envision ourselves laying out in luxurious grass, running our hands through it and wiggling our toes. I certainly do not want to ruin your revery but lets get back to the imagery of David’s psalm as a whole. It is easy to do when we go back to the Hebrew. Deshe’ Naveh, is translated “green pastures”. The imagery is a little more direct and specific. Deshe’ is not the color green but specifically refers to fresh grass, as opposed to withered, dry grass. It is the kind of grass that a shepherd would recognize as healthy and nutritious for his sheep. Naveh is a specific reference to a dwelling place for both sheep and shepherd. Nathan the prophet tells David that it was God who took him from the sheep and the “Naveh” to make him king. Scripture repeatedly uses this word for The Lord’s “habitation” or “dwelling place”. Deshe’ Naveh is not about a fuzzy, feel good place, it is about a place that promotes real health and wellness for us in the presence of our great shepherd, in the presence of our God. Like sheep we are all too ready to eat whatever toxic plants look good at the moment (yes sheep will poison themselves if left in an environment with plants toxic to them). It is only when we follow our shepherd that we will find the Deshe’ Naveh that we so desperately need.
So by now you are probably asking, what does this have to do with the Nineteen Days? It is easy to see and feel the Deshe’ Naveh in the sunny calm of the nineteen days. Too often we spend the Nineteen Days wiggling our toes in the grass instead of taking in the nutrition and wellness that is the provision of the Good Shepherd. Then when the fuzzy comfort of the sunshine is suddenly replaced by bitterness of the storm we think that the Deshe’ Naveh is gone and we run. Like silly sheep we run from the very place of health and wellness that God has made our habitation over some wind, thunder, lightning and rain. We are tempted to eat the toxic greenery, just because there it feels like the sun is shining. We break our legs in the rocky crags as we run to what appears to be shelter. Will the good shepherd track us down and beckon us back to the Deshe’ Naveh, even carry us while we heal? Amen and Amen YES! But he also honors our free will and if we do not surrender to the arms of the shepherd the results can be devastating to all.
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