Meditate on the Mercy + Goodness of your Shepherd Forever | Psalm 23
What do you think about every day? Sports, your family, finances, politics, work, or the opposite sex? A lot of us have ADHD and “stinking thinking.” We think about stuff that tends to bring us down rather than lift us up. The good news is that we can change our brains by changing our thoughts. Dr. Dan Siegel, a professor of clinical psychiatry, says, “Where attention goes, neural firing flows and neural connection grows. Patterns you thought were fixed are actually things that, with mental effort, can indeed be changed. We are not passive in all this activity of mind and awareness.” Paul put it this way, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.” How many of you meditate? I believe that there are a lot more of us who medicate than meditate. What does it mean to meditate? Eastern Meditation is about emptying your mind. Biblical Meditation is about filling your mind with God, the Word of God, and the truths of God. One of the ways I meditate is to pray through scripture; last year, for an entire year, I prayed through Psalm 23. It is out of those meditations God has spoken.
Psalm 23 is a testimony of God’s goodness and mercy in David’s life. Despite the highs and lows, the pain and confusion, the heartache and the hurt, he knew who his Shepherd was. Psalm 23 gives us the ingredients to stay CALM: Consider, Ask, Let Go/Look, and Meditate. At the end of the Psalm, David calls us to meditate on God’s goodness and graciousness that will eternally sustain us.