I am going to start with I am not saying I am right I am just asking a question. Is it possible I have missed some of the meaning in Psalm 23:3? I have always read it that God will lead me along paths of righteousness for His name and that means he will lead me down the right paths for me. What if there is a bigger picture where God is going to lead me down the path of righteousness and right living for His name. What if part of the point (maybe the bigger point?) is about doing the right thing and living the right way because His name is on me?

What if the point is not about me going the right way for me but for Him? What if the purpose is to bring Him glory through right living in caring for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger? What if the Psalm is about the Shepherd and about the sheep?

I, like most people, love Psalm 23 because it makes me comfortable and happy. It reassures me that God will guide me, bless me, lead me, and protect me. I wonder if it should also scare me because that means God could bring me to places that requiring guiding, blessing, leading, and protection. By scare me I do not mean fear because God has said do not be afraid but His plans and ways should scare me because they mean I cannot succeed without His guiding, blessing, leading, and protection.

Jeremiah 33:3 says “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Maybe part of the point of these questions is to get us to call on God and ask Him tough questions. If we do there is a good chance He will move us to a deeper relationship with Him. That is pretty frighting because I just got comfortable here.

Just a thought,

Mike