Surrounded by God

This year has been the year of memorization in the Bucur home. This summer especially, I worked hard to help my son memorize important passages of scripture. I have focused on passages that would bring him confidence, encouragement and remind him of the faithfulness of His God. When we got to Psalm 23, my son said, "I think I know that one." I said, "Ok! Let me hear it…” He responded, "Oh it’s something about the Lord is my shepherd and in the valley of death I will not fear." “That’s a really good start, but there is so much more than that,” I replied. Let me remind you of Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
They comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 may be one of the most well-known and loved passages in the entire Bible—and for good reason. In fact, when I was doing funerals as a chaplain, it was the most requested passage to be read, especially by non-Christians. That should not surprise us, as the words are extremely comforting and symbolic of the great care of God towards his people.

The verse that always gets emphasized at funerals is Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." Powerful and comforting words! There is no evil to fear for God is with us even when we experience death. But like I told my son, “That’s a really good start, but there is so much more than that.” Let me give you the reason why you should have confidence today, no matter what you are going through.

Psalm 23:2-3 tells us, “He leads us beside still waters and into paths of righteousness.” This means, as the Good Shepherd, He is ahead of me, leading and making a way. It then says in verse 4 that His “rod and [His] staff, comfort me.” The rod is a symbol of strength and protection against all my enemies. Meaning, I can rely on him to fend off my enemies and fight for me. Truly, the battle belongs to God. I don’t have to fight. He fights my battles. (Exodus 14:14) The staff symbolizes His loving kindness and also identifies Him as our shepherd who calls out to us and gently guides us away from danger and into “green pastures that restore our soul” (ultimately guiding us to eternal life, see John 10:27-29). So his staff and his rod are to the sides of me.

Verse 5 says that He "anoints my head with oil,” which, according to the prophet Isaiah, is the “oil of joy, during my mourning.” (Isa. 61:3) There is a joy that God downloads into our minds and over our heads that now “overflows” even during the worst moments and seasons of life.

Are you catching the imagery? God is now over the top of me with His joy, pouring it on lavishly as “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” (Neh. 8:10)

Lastly, verse 6 says, His “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” That means he is coming up from behind me with his goodness and mercy. In other words, what holds me up, and keeps me from falling, all the while propelling me forward is his goodness and mercy. (Isa. 52:12)

So if you put it all together, God is leading me down the right paths. God is over top of me, guarding me with joy. God is to the left of me with his strength and protection. He's also to the right of me with his loving kindness. And if that's not enough, He's coming up from behind me with his goodness and mercy for the rest of the days of my life.

So, now let’s go back to verse 4. Why can I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and not fear and not even be rattled? It’s because I'm completely surrounded by God!! The Good Shepherd has me on every side. I am completely covered.

Psalm 125:2 says, "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore."

Imagine with me the geographic picture of this verse. It is in Jerusalem, so that’s the place where the temple was, where God’s presence dwelled among His people. And then picture mountains surrounding Jerusalem as a picture of protection. The psalmist says that just like mountains surround the city, so the Lord surrounds His people. It’s the feeling of envelopment. He’s more than just with you; He is our mountain range! That’s the picture the Psalmist gives here and in Psalm 23. We are enveloped by the peace and protection and power and provision of God, not just temporarily, but forever. Both Psalm 125, and Psalm 23 end with the idea of "forever." "The Lord surrounds his people forever," and "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Wow!

Whatever you are facing today, let this reality “restore your soul.” It’s not about our strength; we are weak and vulnerable sheep. Yet, in that vulnerable condition we are completely surrounded and enveloped like mountain ranges, by our Father, the Good Shepherd.

This is the reason you should be confident today!