2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 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.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 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, ESV
The Lord wants to take you to someplace wonderful, it’s where there is a rich rest and a sweet intimacy– in spite of any conflict you’re having right now. Everything you need is revealed in Psalm 23, and it’s beautiful.
It is more than good poetry. It’s now a way of life for a believer.
When you see it, you will understand what I am talking about, and wonder why you’ve missed it for so long. Believe it or not, our eternal life has already begun, even though many of us don’t walk it out as we should. We learn–our Shepherd teaches us the way of His flock.
There is a place which we can enter where Jesus is all there is.
His dear presence pervades everything, there is no doubt about His lordship. Jesus rules completely, and yet He fully intends to shepherd your soul into eternity. A believer who reads Psalm 23 knows this.
There will be clear evidence when you have appropriated this deeper life.
There will be a surrender of all you have, and you will fully understand what it truly means to be His follower and part of Jesus’ flock. There will be a complete renunciation of all rights to yourself. With an insurmountable joy, you will give it all up just to walk with Him and be with Him.
Live on earth as if you’ve already died, and are now living in heaven with Him.
There must be a definite place to turn your rights over to Him. Perhaps His love has already pressed you into this. Often there will be disillusionment and cynicism about this planet and its ugly ways. You want to escape all its dullness and jadedness. He intends to walk you through many issues, things meant to destroy you will now become a blessing.
If you struggle with a mental illness: clinical depression, bipolar, anxiety issues, or schizophrenia, I want to reassure you, that you are not a “lesser” Christian. And my comments include you. You are not on the scrap heap– cast off into a pile of rejected losers. Not anymore.
If you read this post, and if you’re not sure you’re a Christian, I encourage you to read more. Got Questions has a message you need to consider.
Broken Believers 
Bryan, I love studying the Bible and have been asked when I’m going to seminary (the answer being when I get law school paid off, which won’t be in this lifetime). But this part of your post really spoke to me: “In terms of human knowledge, the queen is theology. But even that noble field of knowledge is a very distant second to Him.” It reminded me that I already know Him and any further study is just icing on the cake. It is that knowledge of being justified in Christ alone that really matters, and it is available to all. Peace, Linda
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Linda, this is both a hard and wonderful lesson. I could have easily entered the seminary, like you. But I am what I am. I sometimes wonder what might of happened. But I have to admit, He has poured Himself on me, and absolutely nothing could ever match this. He pours out a deep and definite love on me, and nothing else really matters.
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You have a talent for words. Thank you for your blog.
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