I recently had a day when my soul was definitely not at peace. Not that life was bad – things have still been pretty amazing for me lately. Maybe because I have been in a good place, close to God, a lot of needs have been coming my way. So this morning, when I was already praying for some pretty big needs, some hurting friends, some darkness surrounding people I love – I learned of another family with a heavily tragic loss. My soul was definitely not at peace. I have recently learned that when breathing seems a little hard the best thing to do is jump into God’s word and let Him do some breathing for me.

I used to very anti glowing bible. But I have to admit, I have grown to love YouVersion… I still love my trusty binding and pages bible, but it is not feasible to have it with me all the time. So that morning, sitting at my desk, I grabbed my coffee and popped up my YouVersion. I have a few reading plans that I do all the time. Psalms and Proverbs in 31 days is one I do over and over. So I open my plan and here I see the first Psalm that I would be reading. I didn’t even need to open it before my breathing automatically eased, a smile crossed my face, and I knew God had orchestrated it all. There is nothing other than God to explain the perfection of this Psalm for this exact moment.

Psalm of peace for my soul.

Psalm 23

Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshed my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 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 your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Shepherd “A person who tends, herds, feeds, and guards herds of sheep.”

According to Wikipedia: “to maintain a large flock, the sheep must be able to move from pasture to pasture… The duty of shepherds was to keep their flock intact, protect it from predators, and guide it to market areas in time for shearing.”

The Lord is my Shepherd. He tends to my needs, makes sure I am fed and guards me from the predators of this world that would harm me. He keeps His large flock – all His sheep – moving forwards with Him. I have nothing to worry about, He does the worrying for me so I can lie in rest in my own green pastures. He takes care of my earthly needs, like food and water – water that takes away the thirst deep in my soul.

When I rely on the guidance of my Shepherd, He leads me on the path He has planned for me. The path may be hard or rocky, but it is the right path, the path of life and blessing. He is my Shepherd, He knows where I need to get to and the best path for me to get there.

He is my Shepherd but I am still in the world. And many in the world have left the side of the perfect guide; have left the peace of the flock. They can do me harm – maybe even intentionally, definitely to my peril. The world can be hard and dangerous, dark valleys and shadows exist all around me — shadows of disease, shadows of temptation, and shadows of worldly driven people who surround me. But with my Shepherd by my side, watching out for me, with His rod and His staff prepared to fend off would be attackers – my God, my Shepherd, will keep me from harm.

The Lord is my Shepherd. And as I travel the pastures of this world, all I really need to know is that His goodness and mercy and love follow me everywhere that I go. And with my Shepherd, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

And that is all the peace I need for my soul.

That peace is available for any sheep who find their way to the good Shepherd. Follow Him; still waters, green pastures, protection, goodness, love, and mercy await you. He is ready to lead you there.