It’s Personal

Lesson One – The 23rd Psalm for Today’s Woman

I read the text from the doctor’s office. 

It was a reminder of my dad’s next appointment. As one of his caregivers, I realized that dad would not be able to keep this next appointment and I was glad to see that the text gave the option to reply with “yes” to confirm or “no” to cancel. Wow. That was easy. I just typed in “no” and it was done.  

That text interplay with the doctor’s office was painless. But how many times do we get unbearably frustrated when trying to find a real person to help you on the telephone? 

Whether it is paying a bill, trying to set up an appointment with a doctor, or just attempting to connect with a busy friend, a voice mail is usually the first thing we hear when we make a phone call. It’s almost shocking when we hear a real voice on the other end of the phone these days.

We have become accustomed to the idea of maintaining relationships with friends, family and business associates by way of emails, texting, and social networks like Facebook or Twitter. Especially during these days of social distancing, we have our business meetings on conference calls, and share ideas by live-feed transmissions. For some, the idea of mailing a handwritten card or letter is quite archaic. (What do they call it? “Snail mail?”) 

I must admit, most of us are doing the best we can during these unusual times; but even before this virus, we had begun to lose the personal touch, hadn’t we?

The good news is that David understood something that we have either forgotten or maybe never knew at all. Let’s learn from him as we look at the very first verse of Psalm 23.

“The LORD is my; Shepherd…”

Will you read that verse again — out loud? Now, will you read it again and let it sing back to your thirsty soul that is so in need of a personal response from someone! This time, put emphasis on the word, “my.” 

Do you get it? He is MY Shepherd. He is YOUR Shepherd. Used here, the word “my” is a first person possessive adjective used to show ownership. He belongs to me… personally.

We often see our God as a benevolent, white-haired, long-bearded man who extends favor to a sea of faceless humanity. He has indeed shown favor to mankind. But what is even more true is this — He has shown love and favor to YOU. With Him, it’s personal.

In these troubling times, we need Jesus to be real. We need our Lord to be near as we face our fears. We want to know that what occurs in our lives matters to him. Most of all, we want to know that the Lord will deal with our needs personally and exclusively. We need to feel that we are more than a nameless face.  

The following excerpt is from an online article, you can find at Heartlight.org.

“Notice in these four important events how our Lord dealt with people personally and specifically, based on their needs.

1. With the disciples’ terror in the storm, Jesus calms the storm in a way only God Almighty could calm a storm and then challenges his disciples to deeper faith (Luke 8:24-25).
2. With Battalion, the man controlled by a legion of demons, Jesus connects with the man personally by asking his name (Luke 8:30), includes the man in his group of disciples after having restored the man to full health (Luke 8:35), and then sends the man on a mission to his people to tell them how much the Lord had done for him (Luke 8:39) — the exact opposite instruction Jesus gives after most of his miracles.
3. With the woman with an incurable flow of blood, Jesus’ power heals her because of her faith, but Jesus will not allow her to leave unnoticed and will not allow her faith to go un-praised and her healing un-affirmed (Luke 8:47-48).
4. With the death of Jairus’ daughter, Jesus puts everyone out of the room except the little girl’s parents along with Peter, John, and James (Luke 8:51-52) so these parents could have this amazingly tender moment of grace as the Lord takes their daughter by the hand, raising her from the dead and then Jesus asks them to get their girl something to eat (Luke 8:54-55).”

Your fears, your sorrows, and your joys will look different than mine. The Lord doesn’t deal with you the same way He deals with me. Except for this — He always approaches each of us with love.

Let’s get the real picture. He is YOUR God. He is YOUR Shepherd. It is His joy and His delight to see you succeed, to lead you, and to guide you. He loves you just because you are YOU. Wow! Think about that and just smile. 

Reflection

When you really embrace this idea of personalizing your relationship with your Father God, how will this concept affect…

…your personal prayer life and intimacy with the Lord?

…­­your ability to believe Him for answers to your prayers?

…your ability to trust Him in trying or sorrowful times?

…the way you express your Christian experience when sharing with others?

What has this lesson meant to you? Leave a comment and encourage someone today!

Here is a great verse to post somewhere and think about several times a day.  

Check out our downloads page to get this printable that I designed just for you!