My earliest memories of Scripture memorization come from when I was nine years old and spent time memorizing Psalm 23 with my parents. If you grew up in a Christian context, you too may have committed this psalm to memory from an early age. And while it may be a staple of many Christian childhoods, this psalm is far from childish. In fact, I would argue that Psalm 23 becomes increasingly relevant as we grow older and the burdens and anxieties of life weigh heavier upon us.
In many ways, growing older is a process of realizing how broken we are and how broken the world around us is. With age comes wisdom, but age also brings with it perspective, and that perspective means that it becomes all but impossible to hold on to the optimism of youth. With each passing day, we become more aware of the sufferings and injustices of our world, and we experience greater amounts of suffering in our own lives as we face the realities of sickness, pain, grief, and loss. We may spend our childhoods memorizing Psalm 23, but most of us don’t understand what “the valley of the shadow of death” really means until later on.
In the midst of a broken world, and in the midst our own brokenness, what better encouragement could we be given than to know that our kind, gentle, gracious, and loving Heavenly Father watches over us with tenderness and care? The language of Psalm 23 evokes the calmness, stillness, and peace of knowing that we are safe and secure in the arms of our shepherd and that we are not alone as we walk through the trials and difficulties of life. This psalm speaks of security in the present and security for the future, knowing that we will dwell with him forever no matter what hardships we face—not because of our own strength or ability, but because of his gracious care. Far from encouraging us to bury our heads in the sand and pretend like our problems don’t exist, this psalm acknowledges that we will face great darkness and be attacked by enemies, and it helps us to lift our eyes from our present realities to see our Good Shepherd—Jesus Christ—who promised to be with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20) and promised that not one of us would ever be snatched from his hand (John 10:27–28).
And so, as we face the burdens and difficulties of life in a fallen world, let us take comfort in the words of Psalm 23 which speak of our kind and gentle Saviour who loves and cares for us with a love and tenderness beyond our own earthly experience. And as we walk through own own valleys, let us fix our eyes on our Good Shepherd who gives us everything we need in this life and promises by his great power to give us rest in the future for all eternity!
All the best,
Luke Burrow
