Psalm 23:3a
He restores my soul.
Today is Day 3 of a set of meditations from Psalm 23.
So far, we have come to see that our shepherd is a personal shepherd. He truly cares for each of us, knows each of our names. (See Psalm 139 for a beautiful presentation of His knowledge and love for us.) He is Yahweh, who created all things by the word of his power and out of nothing. Furthermore, Yahweh has revealed His glory to Moses, when He descended in the cloud before him and proclaiming, “Yahweh, Yahweh Elohim, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” (Exodus 34: 6) Because of His faithful love and power, I can be at rest, content, assured that He supplies my every need.
He, as our shepherd, leads us to a place of rest and safety where we have no reason to fear. He refreshes our bodies as He provides for our physical needs, as we our souls from the living water which Christ offers us in Himself. (See John 4)
Our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, took upon Himself a body and suffered both physically and mentally, spiritually and relationally. His knowledge of our sufferings is not merely intellectual, but also a part of his experience of living among us
Your shepherd is gentle and humble. He is absolutely approachable.
For Each Study, we will be going through six steps:
Relax and Refocus
Read
Reflect
Respond
Rest
Trying it on
Relax and Refocus
Find a spot where you can sit comfortably, away from other distractions as much as possible. Are you thirsty? Even if you are not aware of being so, you may be even a bit dehydrated. Support yourself in being able to be calm and focus by rehydrating. Drink some electrolyte water or water with a pinch of sea salt.
As you pull aside from all the responsibilities, the many cares, the overwhelming burdens of your day, remember that the Lord loves you and He cares about the matters which weigh you down. He provides rest both to your body and to your soul. He is the shepherd of those for whom you are burdened; you can rest them in His care while you focus upon His word.
I praise you Yahweh, my shepherd and king, for making me one of your beloved sheep, bringing me into your fold. I praise you for your compassionate care for me, faithfully providing for my physical needs, as well as rest and safety, even when I am in a wilderness. I praise you because are the one who leads me beside the still waters, the waters of rest. Holy Spirit, please illumine me so that I will be changed as a result of listening to your voice, searching your Word. I want to know you, Jesus, my shepherd, walk with you even more closely, and see the beauty of who you are. Amen.
Jesus invites us
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 28 – 30
* What do you think about Jesus’ description of himself as “gentle and lowly in heart?”
*What does Jesus offer? How many times does He offer it? Does this sound familiar, echoing anything you have heard so far in Psalm 23?
* Does Jesus’ description of himself match with who you have envisioned God the Father, Yahweh, to be? Does Yahweh’s description of Himself sound like Jesus?
In response to Jesus’ invitation to you, pause and pray your own prayer, giving thanks and sharing your thoughts and questions with Yahweh.
PAUSE AND PRAY
Read
Today, as you read this psalm to yourself, we will be focusing on verse 3, specifically connecting it to the content which we have previously covered.
Psalm 23
1 Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing, (for with Him I have everything that I need.)
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still water.
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,
Notes:
Restores: /shoob/ to return, to turn back, to revive. The verb form indicates intensive action, as well as ongoing, continuous action. God is the one who brings us back to himself, who revives those of His children who need help.
Soul: nephesh, in Hebrew, the inner being, the essential you, the immaterial, eternal you, your desires, your motivations, your life. You don’t simply have a soul. You are a soul, an embodied soul. You are not two separate entities: soul and body.
Reflect
Questions to guide you in pondering the passage. Recite verses 1-2 to yourself as you meditate upon these powerful words.
3 He restores my soul
As you read this phrase to yourself, preferably aloud, emphasizing the word marked in bold, ask the Holy Spirit to impress upon your heart what truth He would have you to be shaped by today.
He restores my soul.
He restores my soul.
He restores my soul.
He restores my soul.
Write down your thought and turn it to the Lord in prayer, bringing your thoughts or questions.
*Who restores my soul?
Yahweh restores my soul.
Remind yourself: Who is Yahweh?
Remind yourself: Who is Yahweh?
Yes, He is Lord of heaven and earth, yet He also knows your name.
He loves you, has compassion upon you, and restores your soul.
Who is the shepherd? What is His character? What is his heart towards his sheep?
*What does He provide for his sheep?
*What is the key word which stands out in verse 2 as to what the shepherd provides for his sheep?
*What do we see here about the Shepherd’s care for us?
He cares not only about our body, but also about our inner thoughts and emotions. Consider that even before Jesus walked the earth, He saw what was going on in the world. Later, while He walked face to face with people in his incarnation, He witnessed firsthand our anxiety, fear, loneliness, sadness, weariness from extended suffering.
Let’s consider this sentence from the perspective of King David who wrote the psalm, as well as the listeners of Jesus’ day.
RESTORE. What is the Hebrew understanding of the concept “restore”? The word has two senses, one referring “to return to turn back to the start, to bring back home,” and the other “to revive.” In the context of the relationship between sheep and shepherd this could be phrased as, “When I stray or am lost, He seeks me until he finds me and returns me to the fold. He restores me to the flock.” In a related sense, “When I am weary, He refreshes me with His presence.”
Yahweh also revives those whose souls are burdened and need to be refreshed. He returns a weary or wandering soul back to a state of peace and vitality.
Yahweh is the personal God who has compassion upon His sheep who wander. He returns, restores them to the flock. For those of His children who wander, He restores those who repent. Consider how Yahweh restored King David after his serious sin against Bathsheba and subsequent proxy murder of her husband. (See 2 Samuel 12, Psalm 32 and Psalm 51)
You will find rest for your soul.
MY soul. Yahweh is our personal God. He is concerned about His flock, yet not so to the detriment of the individual sheep. In John 10:3 we are told, “the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” Verse 14 tells us that He knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him.” He truly loves us as individuals, as His beloved children. (“as beloved children,” Eph. 5:1)
SOUL. How does the meaning of this word, /nephesh/ apply to this analogy of shepherd and sheep? We are now starting to pivot from the analogy of the shepherd to the Shepherd himself. The One who care about and provides not simply for my physical needs, but also One who understands our spiritual needs. The Jesus who walked among us, pouring out His compassion, providing not simply physical healing, but also soul restoration to those whom He encountered.
*Is my shepherd sufficient? Do I truly believe that He powerful enough restore my soul? Does He care enough bring peace to my inner being? *I may say this with my mouth, yet what do my choices reveal?
What other sources do I look to for finding peace for my soul?
Venting to a friend, rather than speaking our hearts to the Lord. Food. Exercise. Shopping. Scrolling social media. Anesthetize ourselves through alcohol or CBD gummies. By restoring our gut biome. Through using deep breathing or tapping. Through our marriage being what we hope that it might be.
What does Jesus offer? See John 14: 27
He restores me that I might have fellowship with Him, humbly walk in His ways, continues to restore me so that I grow more to be like Him. The Apostle Paul expresses this as: Romans 8: 1-4.
Your shepherd loves you so much that He has given voice to us for when we are suffering. The Shepherd of Psalm 23 cares so much that He is the same one who suffered, laid down His life for you, took upon himself the wrath of God for your sin, so that you might be delivered, cleansed, renewed, and now identified as one of His sheep. (See Psalm 22.) This same shepherd gives us words to express the deepest pain and darkness of our souls. He gives us the voice of lament.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the waters of rest.
He restores my soul;
Respond
What do you most want to say to Yahweh because of this meditation? What questions do you have for Him?
Ask yourself: What do I truly hunger and thirst for? What do I grieve over or become distressed when something doesn’t go as I had expected or someone does not respond to me as I had desired?
These concerns are exactly what He welcomes you to bring to Him.
Write your thoughts and turn them in to a prayer.
PAUSE AND PRAY
I praise you, Lord Jesus, my shepherd, that I can be restored! I praise you for how You welcome me back to yourself when I stumble and fall. For how You seek after me when I don’t desire You. For how You refresh my soul when my body is weary from the demands of everyday life when serving my extended family or while I deal with physical challenges. Thank you that I can find refuge in you and that you give the gift of rest. All too often, though, I have trouble laying down my concerns and responsibilities, to come to you as your beloved child. Please teach me, guide me, as to how to find my soul’s rest in you.
Rest
Take a moment to soak in what the Holy Spirit has impressed upon you today about your shepherd’s care for your soul. How does His care relate not simply to your relationship with Him, but also your relationship to the other sheep? What can you speak to your soul about your life paths, now that you see that the shepherd’s will is that to bring us to necessary physical and spiritual food, water, safety, and growth that our paths will not be straight nor predictable.
Share this spiritual truth impressed upon you. Is there someone today who needs to hear about how the Shepherd cares for her soul? For how His voice through His Word is what will safely guide and lead her through her life’s journey?
Trying It On
How is the practice of memorization providing to be nourishing for your soul? Are you finding that memorizing these words to be a natural process of meditating upon them and then, sharing your thoughts with Yahweh?
Are you finding that your perspective on the events of your day, even the mundane, are taking on more significance as you are aware of the Shepherd’s care and leading?
Continue speaking to your soul, both as you start the morning and as you complete your day. Keep reminding yourself of these things which are true, so that you might know the joy of His presence even more fully.
Use these thoughts as part of your prayers this coming week.
The Psalm 1 woman meditates upon the Word day and night, causing her to be spiritually fruitful. These words of David, as he meditates upon the beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4), are a guide to us as to how to do the same.
Choose to make the words of this psalm part of your thoughts as you start your day and as you wrap up the end of your day. Be as honest as you can manage to be with the Lord regarding what you find here in the Word and what you are wrestling with in your life.
Shalom