“He Restores My Soul.” Psalm 23:3

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3

RENEWAL

All of us with our human limitations are in deep need of daily soul restoration from the Lord.

A definition of the word restore reads, “to return to its original or usable and functioning condition.” So simply stated, God restores our soul by returning it to its original, usable, and functioning condition. 

In Psalm 23:3, David needs soul restoration as he pleads for strength in trials. In Psalm 51, he longs for restoration as he grieves his sin. Galatians 6:1 references the need for gentle restoration of a relationship with an ailing believer. Because of our sin, we experience both trials on this earth and difficulties in our relationships – thus needing soul restoration for our daily functioning in the lives God has called us to live.

When I think of restoration, I think of renewal. Both are a continual part of the sanctification journey of a Believer.

Upon reliance on Him, God promises to renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31) and renew steadfast spirits within us (Psalm 51:10). Daily, we’re called to be transformed by the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:2).

Paul calls us to restore our hope in him in Romans 15:13 as he prays, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The daily renewal and restoration in the Shepherd leads to an overflow of hope and trust in Him.

When can you most recently remember feeling filled with joy, peace and trust in God?

When you reflect on the life-giving benefits of having your soul restored through Christ, how much more does it make you want to seek Him for daily renewal?

Think of someone riding a bike on a beautiful, smooth path – with God as the wheels directing the way. If I took my wheels off my bike or tried to bike an offroad path, the journey would be both strenuous and unpredictable. 

We have the opportunity to choose to “cycle” in the beautiful daily renewal, restoration, and reliance with the Shepherd of our soul as He rescues us from our self-reliant tendencies. 

RELIANCE

In Psalm 42:11, David cries out, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” 

As David is cast down in sorrow, I hear his honesty with God and his immediate cycle into renewing his mind as he chooses to hope in the unseen.

Are you familiar with the old English shepherd’s term, “cast” or “cast down”? In chapter five of A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller explains that the term means, “turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself.” He writes, “If the owner does not arrive on the scene within a reasonably short time, the sheep will die. This is another reason why it is so essential for a careful sheepman to look over his flock every day, counting them to see all that are able to be up and on their feet. If one or two are missing, often the first thought to flash into his mind is, One of my sheep is cast somewhere. I must go in search and set it on its feet again.”

No sheep is immune to being cast down. He mentions that “even the largest, fattest, strongest, and sometimes healthiest sheep can become cast and be a casualty.” If it lays down to relax in the wrong place and starts to struggle to stand, it will panic and dig itself further into the ground.

I learned that the shepherd looks out for predators who know that a cast sheep is in a vulnerable place. The protective shepherd is constantly looking out for his sheep in danger and need of rescue.

I’m sure you’re following the metaphors here. Don’t we all have our moments of being cast down in trials, sin, and relationships?

Romans 5:4-5 reminds us that “...endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

What a beautiful cycle of renewal and restoration that can happen from being cast down. It’s not a quick or linear process to go straight from trials to hope, but the more often we renew our mind, the more quickly we are to jump to the big picture of truth.

We often choose self-dependence because it seemed like an easier, more comfortable route. But God always knows safe places to rest that lead to true restoration of our soul. When a sheep chooses a soft spot to lay, they often put themselves in danger. Keller reminds us,“In the Christian life there is great danger in always looking for the easy place, the cozy corner, the comfortable position where there is no hardship, no need for endurance, no demand upon self-discipline.”

Hebrews 12:1 tells us of the endurance for the race marked out for us as Believers. It references throwing off everything that entangles.

I learned from Keller that when a sheep has too much wool, it can lead to a sheep becoming “cast.” He writes, “Wool in Scripture depicts the old self-life in the Christian. It is the outward expression of an inner attitude…Here is where I find the clinging accumulation of things, of possessions, of worldly ideas beginning to weigh me down, drag me down, hold me down…There are men and women who, because they may have done well in business or in their careers or their homes, feel that they are flourishing and have ‘arrived.’ They may have a sense of well-being and self assurance, which in itself is dangerous.” Just as a sheep can fall into danger because of heavy wool, when we find ourselves caught up in things of this life, it either  causes trials, leads to temptation, or distracts us. 

What things have you accumulated and are clinging to on this earth that may cause you to be cast down?

When we are “cast down,” the Shepherd is the only source of rescue and restoration. He mentioned how sheep do not really enjoy being sheared, which points to what can be a painful process of being stripped of our personal desires. Yet it’s in the rescue that we are found and in the shearing that God restores us to our original, usable, and functioning condition.

RESCUE

It’s because of the Shepherd’s daily rescue of our souls that we are restored. As we think of a rescued cast sheep, Keller references the beauty in a shepherd leaving the ninety-nine and searching for the one. He says, “There is the shepherd’s deep concern, his agonizing search, his longing to find the missing one, and his delight in restoring it not only to its feet but also to the flock as well as to himself.”

As the Shepherd rescues the lost, He restores their health by leading them back to His pastures – guiding to the most refreshing water and offering protection the whole way. Keller outlines that with every sheep, “there is the attentive owner quick and ready to come to its rescue – ever patient and tender and helpful.” Our Heavenly Father is ever patient, tender, and helpful as He guides us through our lives.

Once a sheep is found, Keller describes the sheep regaining his balance, saying, “it would start to walk steadily and surely. By and by it would dash away to rejoin the others, set free from its fears and frustrations, given another chance to live a little longer.” In whatever state God finds us – even when we feel weak and feeble – God heals, repairs, and restores us. Isn’t it such a refreshing feeling to be refueled by God’s truth when we feel depleted? 

When we zoom out to the big picture of the overall rescue of our souls, I love the truth Tim Keller once quoted. “The resurrection promises us more than consolation for the suffering and death we experience in this world; it promises us restoration,” he said. “The resurrection means nothing is truly lost.” Lost and hurting sheep are found, rescued, and restored by the Shepherd – and given hope for their future. The hope for us in this broken world is the promise of a perfect world eternally worshiping our Savior. 

In the culmination of God’s full promise of restoration for us all, He on the throne says in Revelation 21:5, “...Behold, I am making all things new.” As we journey in renewal and restoration, we hold to 2 Corinthians 4:16 where it says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

May we fix our eyes on the Shepherd as He restores our soul – through renewal, reliance, and our ultimate rescue.

Join us next week as we study Psalm 23:4, “He Guides Me in Paths of Righteousness for His Name’s Sake.”