Thursday, April 23, 2026

Psalm 23 

The Divine Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2     He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3     he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I 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 my whole life long.

Devotional 

It’s my Birthday Devotional! 

Today’s daily lectionary reading feels like the perfect text for me (and hopefully for you) as I come to the close of my 40th year. This has been a hard year. I said goodbye to family members, life‑long friends, and my dog Zeke—all while doing my best to settle into my new calling as the Lead Pastor of Peace. 

My guess is that many of you have been through the ringer this year as well, and you know what it’s like for the words of the Psalm not to match what you’re experiencing on the ground. I get that. Back in February, I sat with my youngest brother at Mayo Clinic while his wife received a new liver, and nothing about that moment felt like “still waters and green pastures.” 

That’s why it’s so important to remember that this passage isn’t meant to mirror our circumstances. It’s not a description of what we always see—it’s an invitation to internalize resurrection hope in spite of what we see. Psalm 23 is a prayer that turns our hearts from the chaos around us toward the promise within us. As we pray it, it shapes us from the inside out so that we become “green‑pasture people” and “still‑waters people.” 

And when you become that kind of person, you can stand in the middle of very real difficulty and still say, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Life doesn’t suddenly become easy—but hope begins to take root. In the “now but not yet” of God’s kingdom, both of these things can be true at the same time. 

I don’t expect the next year to magically become easier—for me or for you. But I do expect that I will keep praying this Psalm again and again. And I trust that, over time, it will continue to transform me into someone who “dwells in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” 

My hope is that you will join me in that prayer—and in that transformation. 

– Pr. Jason 

Let us pray: For today’s prayer, read Psalm 23 and simply say “amen” and the end.