Did you ever wish someone would come along and lay out a path for your life? Have you wondered, if God is so great, why doesn't he just give us the plan so we can have an easy life? This week Renée and Theresa finish up the discussion of the very well-known Psalm 23. The word of God actually talks about what God does do for us. Listen this week for some testimony that shows God truly does supply all our needs.
Did you ever wish someone would come along and lay out a path for your life? Have you wondered, if God is so great, why doesn't he just give us the plan so we can have an easy life? This week Renée and Theresa finish up the discussion of the very well-known Psalm 23. The word of God actually talks about what God does do for us. Listen this week for some testimony that shows God truly does supply all our needs.
This week, Theresa and I are wrapping up Psalm 23. It's the very famous Psalm that we've talked about. The last two episodes. The Lord is my shepherd, and there's so much juice in this. We're excited to share it with you. So stay tuned, get ready. Here we go.
Speaker 2:Welcome to episode 62 of the well-versed woman podcast. I'm Renee teller and I'm
Speaker 3:Theresa Morgan. You see Renee and I come to you week after week. Very perfectly imperfect. I might add with the desire to share our life stories in our faith with you. What we
Speaker 2:Love to share is relationship not religion. We say this way back in the early podcasts that we did, we're working on developing a relationship with the person who created us. But before we get started, we did the same thing. Every episode, we invite that creator to be right in the room with each and every one of us. We do that by closing our eyes, taking some slow, deep inhales and exhales, and actually inviting God to open our eyes, to see our ears, to hear and our hearts to feel his presence right now in this very moment are 20 seconds begin right now.[inaudible]
Speaker 4:That's it.
Speaker 2:That was 20 seconds. And you know, if you've been listening, I'm going to encourage you to grow that 20 seconds is such a little bit of time, but immensely
Speaker 1:Profitable. If you do it throughout your day. And more importantly, if every morning before your feet hit the ground, you just ask God, you invite him into your day and ask him to direct every single step you make. While Theresa here, we are wrapping up Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, and I'm going to share with everyone right before we started, Theresa said, but it was so funny. He was feeling and being a sheep. And we had this beautiful discussion Theresa on how we feel silly. Sometimes being led around like a sheep. When so many of us are so programmed to work and be about busy-ness, especially in this life, especially in this world, but I encourage everyone listening, be a sheep, you know, be a sheep for a little while and go back and listen to the other two episodes of this. And we'll bring it home today with exactly what this great shepherd we talk about does for us as he leads us through every aspect of our life. Tracy,
Speaker 3:That's so true. And you know, the more I meditate on this song, the more I see a gentle, caring, tender shepherd, you know, Christ came on our behalf. He accomplished the work to bridge. What happened when sin came into the world, he, he paid the price for our sin that we could be reunited back to God in that I just loved this Renee about him. He doesn't leave it there. Pack his bags, say work done. See ya. After you expire on planet earth. No, he leaves his bags unpacked. And he goes to work day by day in our lives. You know, Psalm 23, I'm just going to read it. It's not long. I'm going to go back just a little bit. Renee. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want, he makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. We're going to cover, you know, the remaining verses. Uh, but I was struck at just the verbs in the opening lines. You know, he makes me right. He makes me to lie down. He leads me. The verb makes, he leads me. He restores, he leads me what a beautiful, beautiful fact, what a beautiful truth that when we look to him, boy, surely as the Bible says, Renee, our steps are ordered of him and he loves to lead. He just loves to lead today. We're going to be looking at verses five through six that says you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over surely, surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Wow. That's unpack this Renee. Let's start with you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
Speaker 1:It's true. It's such a beautiful Psalm. That again, I would encourage everyone. If you're looking for a place to put your meditation to get started, this Psalm over and over again is a wonderful, and especially for me tree. So where I have a hard time following, I have a hard time thinking that I'm not supposed to be working, that I'm not supposed to be coming up with things on my own to do. You know, we've both heard it Theresa. The Lord helps those that help themselves. That's kind of the, the biblical foundation. Some of us were raised on and it's not biblical at all. It's, uh, it's a, it's a made up of verse, so to speak. But this moving into the fact that you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, I just love that it is so clear that he's clearing the way I envisioned myself in those times of distress, that, that we all have in life where you feel like you're in the forest and you just cannot get your way through. You can't find your way out. And yet my mind then can go to wait a minute. There he is with his big machete clearing the way before me making a path in the middle of all the chaos, that if I can just be connected enough to this great God, this great creator, I will be able to see the path and walk right through it. I mean, that's what he's talking about. That kind of clarity and preparing before us Theresa in the presence of our enemies, that might be lurking in those trees. You know,
Speaker 3:That's very true Renee. And I do have to tell our listeners that I've been reading a book and it's called a shepherd looks at Psalm 23. And it's by a beautiful author. W Philip Keller is his name because I didn't know much about tending to sheep, but listen to this, you know, this verse, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, according to sheep them, if you will, in the sheep countries of the world to high Plains of the sheep ranges are referred to as mesas Rene, which is the Spanish word for table. So shepherds before their sheep arrive to carefully, look over the lamb. The sheep will be grazing in to prepare the land for their sheep. They distribute salt and minerals. They look carefully at the vegetation. They weed out any harmful, poisonous weeds. They make ready for their sheep. So when the Lord thinks of our lives, and we know that scripture says that our steps are ordered of him. We know that scripture says he has the plan and purpose for our lives. He makes way by clearing the field. If you will. He puts us in situations, in, in paths where we're going to flourish, Renee, just like sheep. And he will make sure the poisonous weeds, the enemies that make spring up to detour those plans. Well, he is going to take care of them as well through giving us wisdom through taking care and making sure that as we're walking down the path, we're not making a turn to the right or a turn to the left off of the path. Renee, it's a beautiful, um, picture and depiction of that good shepherd. As he's carefully watching the sheep as they grazed on the good land that's been prepared is they're walking down the road. And I just loved the parable where when one of the sheep, just one, uh, breaks, rank and goes off the shepherd quickly, we'll gather the sheep, put them in the pan and then go out and look for the one lost sheep. That's the tender care, concern and love that the good shepherd has for us.
Speaker 1:Um, it's, it's so great and such a great depiction of how God works with us. And I think about David, who was a shepherd himself and understood this. So clearly when he wrote that Psalm and you're right, Theresa, we don't understand it. We don't know what it's like. We didn't know that a shepherd does all that work beforehand. So, you know, David being so close to God and so inspired by him just took that analogy and laid it out there for us. So simply I
Speaker 3:Love that he sure did. And you know, I guess we should talk a little bit about God's omniscience, which means God is all knowing. He already knows the steps that our lives will take. He's omnipresent. He's everywhere in time. At the same time he made time. So he sits in eternity. We're not going to go down that road too much today, but I think we need to understand how magnanimous and powerful and all-knowing God really is. So if he knows Renee and I, if he knows our future and knows the decisions that we're going to make, he can then gently lead us with his staff to make sure we stay on the good path. So I want to bring us back just to a few scriptures here that are, that will undergird what we're talking about. You know, Psalm 37 verses 23 and 24, say the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. He delights his way. Now listen to this. I love it. It says though he fall, he shall not utterly be cast down for the Lord, upholds him with his hand. Is that beautiful? Even when we make mistakes, God is there wanting to bring us in course, correct us. If you will. The other scripture that undergirds, all that we've been saying is of course, Jeremiah 29, 11 through 13, and the Bible says for then this is God speaking. I know the thoughts, I think toward you says the Lord thoughts of peace and not evil to give you a future and a hope, then you will call upon me and go and pray to me. And I will listen to you and you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Wow. So we can see the interaction between the shepherd and the sheep. If you will, between God and mankind, we can see how important prayer is. We can see how important it is to know the truths of the Bible so that we can then interact with God and say, okay, Lord, I understand you have the plan and Renee, you and I can definitely give testimony to the fact that when we look to him, when we know he's course correcting, or when we know we're on the path and we're traveling, right. And in the clear waters with him, boy, if there's no better, no better feeling in no better realization, uh, when you're walking the plans in the path that God has for your life individually, right? Renee.
Speaker 1:Oh, no question. I think about what you just read. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. And I know for me, Teresa, I don't search for God with my heart, as much as I do when I'm in those difficult times and places, he knows that about our humanness. He knows that when we are, you know, things are rosy and we're just, don't seem to have any issues coming up in life. We, we aren't as diligent and we're just, we're human. We seek help when we're in distress. And I think I see it so clearly in my life because I am and have been, you know, uh, a self doer and was trained, you know, way back as a little kid, you know, to do works, to do works and to work hard and to be a worker and to quote, you know, we've said this before, make happen. And when you're that type of person, if I'm speaking to you, you know, it you're that type of person, you do have that idea that, oh, I don't need to bother God with this. I truth be told. I go, I go through it with Peter a lot, you know, like I don't need to bother God with that. And he absolutely wants the opposite because he wants us to search for him with all our heart. And so I find with me, God gives me some big blocks sometimes because he knows that will stop me in my tracks. And now I've gotten better. So my blocks are getting smaller. I think Theresa, because now I go to him before the big black comes and that's, that's when we know that we're getting into that deep relationship that we talk about where instead of waiting for him to course correct me, I go to him first to say, where's the course. And I sit still long enough to hear it. See before I think she saw, I wasn't sitting still long enough to hear it. So I would go to him, but then B be busy, busy, and now I'm getting so much better at being still enough to ask him first for the path to be revealed, because he'll do that. He'll do both right. He'll reveal the path to us or he'll course correct it and reveal it that way. One is a little easier than the other. I guess one takes a little more patience, which again is not my middle name, the waiting upon the Lord. But I love that. That says you will seek me, find me when you search for me with all your heart.
Speaker 3:Oh, true genetics. I didn't love some of the things you just said. You know, about being really self-reliant. God wants us to change from being self-reliant to God reliant. Boy, what a beautiful, beautiful thing. You know, the Bible says in Philippians chapter four, verse 19, but my God shall supply all of my need. Isn't that wonderful. It's not just talking about material need, but it's also talking about emotional need. It's talking about any need that life has in again, when we go back to the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep, the shepherd, he is, um, he has the job description. If you will, to take care of every need of the sheep, right in sheep can be skiddish. They can be finicky. And I, for one will say, I can be skittish. I can be finicky, but because I know my good shepherd is always at hand. That's what comes my saw you because I know Romans 8, 28, he works out all things together for my good, it brings a peace that passes all understanding is Philippians says, I believe in the first chapter or the second chapter, but he, when I pray, my soul is settled in the knowledge of his goodness and his love for me. And so it's a beautiful walk with our good shepherd and his tending to my area.[inaudible]
Speaker 1:So great. And then we can move on. I think Theresa to the next line of this, you anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. I love the David said that, you know, my cup runs over and we feel that so much in our life. Oh my gosh. And you know, I've been away with Peter and it's exactly how we feel when we sit in stillness and just thank God for the beautiful life that's been created because we committed almost 25 years ago. Chase. It will be when we, when we got married, when we walked, before him, in that church, we committed our lives to him and that we would work to do his work and our cup runs over. We, we just have so much amazing things in our life that we're so grateful for. I
Speaker 3:Love that Renee. It's, it's so true. And, uh, congratulations a little bit early. Uh, I know it's going to be an exciting celebration for you guys for your anniversary, but yes, uh, the scripture you anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over my cup, runs over, reminds me of God's generosity, his mercies that are new and fresh every morning. He's so big with love. He's so about us. Wow. He's just the greatest lover in the world, but let's look at you anoint my head with oil. You know, the anointing of God, he actually in the Hebrew means a smearing. So God wants to in annointing means God's empowerment to do things that we, that we ordinarily would not be able to do on our own. But when he comes steps into the picture and he brings his capable self, he then imparts the wisdom and the power and the strength we need to us to do what he's asking us to do. But this I think is really fun. Renee, let's look at this as it applies to sheep. So for sheep, insects and flies are a real bother and a threat to health of their existence, especially nose flies, Renee. I never even knew there was such a thing, but there is such a thing called nose flies that want to lay their eggs in the mucus of the nose of sheep. And that is especially bothersome to them. So the shepherd, if the first sign of the, what they call the summertime, slide time, a good shepherd applies an ointment antidote to the head of the sheep. They smear it on the head and the nose of the sheep. And it's made up of linseed oil, sulfur and tar. And this smearing of this concoction protects the sheep from the nose flies in the other insects. And when this is done, the sheep feel comfortable and stable. They begin to feed well in survive better. So I like it that too, when the Lord gives us instruction in wisdom, it's like a smearing of his information being downloaded to us so that our lives are better, that we're surviving planet earth. If you will, in a better place, in a better space functioning, as he would have us to function poise, is there anything better in life than having the manufacturer have us come in and give us, uh, the instructions to life so that we can walk in it. And then he helps us along the way. It's beautiful. And I, for one, a boy could keep our listeners here all day, telling them about the goodness of God in my life and all of the wonderful, wonderful things he has done to course correct me on my path.
Speaker 1:This, this teaching and this song is such a great testimony, Theresa, to why people and us and anyone listening needs to study. The Bible needs to get into the word of God to understand these things and why David, who was a shepherd wrote the Psalm the way he wrote it. And it's, it's so cool about the sheep being, you know, anointed with oil themselves, so to speak. And then David saying, that's what you do for me. God, it's just like the sheep. That's what you do for me. And it's just great, Theresa, thank you for that.
Speaker 3:Hmm. You're so welcome, Renee. Um, you know, I'm looking at Psalm 91 verses two and four and some 91 is a beautiful sum of, uh, uh, truth of God's protection over us, over our families. You know, God's, grace is smeared all over our, by the precious holy spirit, as he protects us from her harmful enemies in our path. So Psalm 91 verses two to four says, I will say of the Lord. He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in him, I will trust surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the Fowler and from the perilous pestilence, he shall cover you with his feathers and under his wings, you shall take refuge. His truth is our shield and buckler. So when we walk in the armor of God, when we walk in the fullness of faith, there is a super natural protection that abides with us, and that comes with us if you will. And so we can trust God day by day to pray, to protect us in our cup. Runneth over is the generosity of his grace and his mercy in our lives day after day as we walk with him. Um,
Speaker 1:Hmm. And don't, we all want a relationship with someone who we can say about he is my refuge and my fortress, my fortress, that word is so rich. My God in him, I will trust. And I, I use that a lot Theresa, as I'm just, you know, out for my morning walk where I'm meditating on the word at the same time I'm walking. And I think over and over, I've learned to say, God, it's you. I will trust it's you. I will trust because of this relationship. I know he is my refuge and my fortress. And so I trust him and, and what anxiety gets eliminated, what fear gets eliminated from our lives. When we have a relationship with someone that we can trust, oh my gosh, it's crazy.
Speaker 3:You know, I, I guess we're, we're staring right at the face of the definition of faith, Renee. Really, if we boil it down to just some simple terms, faith is trusting God, you know, complete abandonment and trust in God is the sheep have to completely abandon their lives to the shepherd. I mean, without proper land to graze on clean water, um, to sustain them, they will, he will die. Uh, you know, they might live for awhile, but boy, it will be a painful existence for the sheep. And really it's the same thing with us. He is so good. He's such a great provider. You know, I, I find it hard sometimes to really find the words to aptly describe God's love in goodness towards us. Um, the words that I'm using are the best I can come up with, but I think I, I think, uh, we're all, we're all getting this, you know, the, the last of the scriptures here, Renee says that surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Not beautiful boy, waking up every morning, according to Lamentations, chapter three, verses 22 and 23 that says though, the Lord's mercies through the, excuse me, through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed because his compassions fail not, they are new every morning. Great. Is your faithfulness not beautiful? His mercies are new every morning, no matter what occurred yesterday, we can get up. We can, uh, you know, uh, dust off our feet and say, Lord lead me today. You know, if we did, if we aired, if we send yesterday first John one nine, right? He's faithful to forgive us. As we look to him in prayer and say, great shepherd lead me today. I want to stay in your pastures. I want to stay grazing on good land. I want to drink from the best waters. And he who promised these things. He pretend 23 Renee. We know he is faithful. Hmm
Speaker 1:Hmm. And they know Theresa said, if we send, we can get up every morning or the next morning, because his mercies are new every morning for me, ladies and gentlemen, it's every day, every day I missed the mark. And every day I say exactly that Theresa, your mercies are new. Every morning. Joy comes in the morning. You forgive me. And, and you know, not to get into that path, but every day I pray for that forgiveness. Oh, that's such a great Psalm, Theresa. This whole, this whole three episodes have been just amazing. So go back and binge listen. How about that tree? So we could encourage them to binge listen, 1, 2, 3.
Speaker 3:I love that. That's perfect. That is perfect. And you know, is, is our anchor scripture says, you know, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And regardless if it's our muttering to ourself, as we learned, that's what meditation really is. Or if it's listening to a good podcast or a good sermon, that's, that's how our faith comes. And that's how our faith stays high and connected to God. Mm.
Speaker 1:So you said it, but we'll say it one more time. What is the well-versed woman? Foundational scripture.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. Renee Romans 10, 17. Faith comes by hearing
Speaker 2:And by the word of God, we love you. Thanks for listening. Now, remember you can rate and review this podcast and don't forget to click the subscribe button and we'll send you a journal right? In the mail, a well-versed woman journal. We also have a Facebook community group that you can join. Just search for us. Well-versed woman on Facebook, and we'll approve you to join. And last but not least, we love the show notes. The show notes on these particular well-versed woman episodes are scripture. So it's just the best show notes you could ever get. You can scroll down, you can download them, you can print them. You can write them those words on your heart every single morning until next week. We love you. Bye now.