The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 23:1-6, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

It has been said that the most familiar verse in the Bible to all people is John 3:16. It might also be said that the most

familiar Old Testament passage is Psalm 23. Yet, familiarity does not mean full recognition. It is necessary that we

carefully analyze even those passages with which we think we are familiar.

1.“The LORD is my shepherd” speaks of our relationship with God. Meditate upon that for a moment. We often speak

highly of famous people we know; but nothing can supersede our relationship with God.

2.“I shall not want” is the assurance of God’s provisions for our every need. So often He has met needs we had and were not-at-all sure how we were going to make it.

3.“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads beside quiet waters” speak of His restoration of calmness for our bodies. We often found peace at the shore of the ocean, just enjoying the fresh breezes that reached the shore.

4.“He restores my soul” is the inner calmness He restores to our hearts and minds. His Word renewed our faithfulness in His ability to help us, and this calmed us fully and readied us for continuation in His work.

5.“He guides me in the paths of righteousness” is His redirection of our lives. So many times we were unsure of which way to turn, but He always led us in right paths. Notice, too, that it is “for His name sake.”

6.Verse 4 speaks of the reliability of His protection, even to the point of death. Flying into strange countries without knowning anyone and being subject to potential problems, made us rely entirely on the LORD. He never failed us.

7.The preparation of a “table for us in the presence of our enemies” and the anointing of our heads with oil indicates His recognition of us as belonging to Him. Such applause from the LORD far exceeds even the president’s mention of our name or his notation of something helpful we’ve done.

8.Verse 8 is the overall resolution that His faithful righteousness will accompany us throughout all of life, as we remain

ever faithful to Him. How could we ever fail to be faithful to Him?

May the LORD bless you for your faithfulness, as we pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”