Psalm 23:1 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 paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 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 forever. Two thoughts come to mind this morning, to speak against and to speak for. Let me explain. Paul says we should resist the devil and he will flee from us. So, I encourage you to just that. When fear, frustration, boredom, anxiety, and the like come into your thinking or your speech, tell it to "go away, I don't want it and I don't receive it." And then do as David does, start with your confession of what you do believe. "The LORD is the one watching out for me." And then continue on listing all of the things you believe God does for you even in the "presence of my enemies." You could just speak this Psalm out loud in your house, recite it over and over. I remember a book I read years ago that talked about thinking of the 23rd Psalm as a prescription written by your spiritual doctor. Rather than "take these pills, twice a day," it reads, "Read this Psalm when you wake up and when you lie down to sleep." Speak out the confession that the LORD will take of me, I will have no wants or needs. He will restore my soul and make me walk in green pastures and beside still waters. He will be the one who comforts us all in this time of death and fear because His rod and staff will be there to guide and protect. He will pour out His blessings on us even in the midst of the suffering and loss of our loved ones. Goodness and Mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. I have always pictured a serene pasture leading to a mountain pass with the shepherd out in front of the flock and nipping at the heels of the straggling sheep are the two sheep dogs, one named goodness and the other mercy, bringing up the rear. Jesus is never going to leave us or forsake us; He will make sure we know of His goodness and His mercy that is always with us. Our human problem is how we think. For some reason we like to think of the negative. The news media gives us the negative twist on the story. They could be telling us how many people have the virus and how many have not died. That to me would be more hopeful. "Today 985 people are still living with the virus, and 824 of them are fully recovered." Once again, when the negative starts to enter your mind or you realize you are stressing over a negative idea, speak against it, "Be gone, I don't want you in my mind." It seems awkward at first, a little silly, but it works. Then replace it with something good and positive. Sing a happy song, recite a poem, speak out your beliefs, recount your blessings. Maybe you can put the 23rd Psalm on your bulletin board or refrigerator or in your pocket so it is readily available when you need to confess the positive truths of what God has done for you. The church hymn goes like this, "When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God has done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your many blessings, see what God has done." Or had the alternate last line, “And it will surprise you what the LORD has done.” When I stop to list all of the things that I believe Jesus has done for me in my life, I am amazed. Recently, I wrote a book about my life called the Drunken Preacher. I wrote it for my kids and grandkids to know the stories behind why I am a pastor and the many ways Jesus has impacted my life. But it is now being read widely. You don’t have to write a book, but in this time of sheltering in place, take a moment and begin your list. What has Jesus done for you? List them one by one and keep the list handy, you might be surprised by what the LORD has done. The LORD is a good shepherd, He will watch over you in this time of uncertainty.
Pastor Edd | 
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