06282025 He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our watchful Shepherd. Here are my thoughts on the next phrase from Psalm 23.

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.”

What would this scenario mean to a sheep? I picture a scene of tranquility and security, coupled with provision. The sheep is well-cared for, having plenty of good food to eat. This is a setting where the sheep can rest at peace, knowing that the shepherd has not only directed it to a good place, but that he is on guard and alert to any dangers. This speaks to me of peaceful protection and provision under the Shepherd’s care. What commentary might David provide on his own psalm?

Two companion verses speak of safe and peaceful sleep. “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me” (Ps. 3:5). “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety” (Ps. 4:8). There are two aspects to this sleep. The first is from the beginning of the sleep. Trust and confidence in the Shepherd allow the believer to have enough peace to lie down and sleep. Neither fears nor anxieties nor the troubles of the day past nor the one to come need to prevent sleep. When it comes time to sleep, the believer can peacefully do so. The second aspect is what happens in the morning. He wakes up. While that may seem obvious, the reason is because God sustained him and kept him safe. There is never a guarantee of waking up in the morning. When it happens, it is because the Shepherd kept watch through the night.

The next two verses have to do with the Shepherd’s leading. “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly [beautiful] heritage” (Ps. 16:6). “He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me” (Ps. 18:19). Certainly, there are difficult times in life, but they are not the whole of life. The reality is that when we walk with God, we are basically in a good place. That is true of our spirits and of our peace as redeemed people, if not always in every practical detail. To be in fellowship with God – yes, that is truly to be in a pleasant and beautiful place. The second verse captures a bit of the before and after picture. We were not in such a good place before the Shepherd rescued us. It is only His intervention and subsequent leading that brings us to the broad place of luxurious greenness. And it is because He delights in us!

Finally, we have the Shepherd’s careful attention. “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways” (Ps. 139:2-3). His care is constant and thorough. He watches over all our path and knows all our ways, because He is with us and on guard. He knows every time we sit or lie down and every time we stand up. He knows because He is watching and alert. He is thoroughly and constantly concerned for our condition and well-being.

We can lie in peace in the rich pasture to which He has led us. He makes sure it is a good and plentiful place that will meet our needs. He watches to make sure we are safe. He gives us a good heritage and remains attentive at every moment. No wonder we can rest in peace under His watchful care! May He truly give you a sense of peace as you rest in His care this week.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

06212025 I Shall Not Want

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our Providing Shepherd. After declaring the LORD to be his Shepherd in Psalm 23, David then states, “I shall not want.”

Of course, “want” refers not to desire, but to lack or need. David states that (because God is his Shepherd) he will not lack what he needs. He is confident that God will provide for him in every area. This was not a one-time statement by David. Rather, it was an anchor that he consistently believed and repeatedly stated.

A similar statement is found in Ps. 34:9. “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.” Although God does, in His general provision, meet the needs of all creatures, He makes a special commitment to His children. God particularly meets the needs of those who follow Him as their Shepherd or, as it is stated in this verse, those who fear Him. For these people, there is no lack.

Only God is capable of such provision. It is a big enough challenge just trying to provide for one’s own family. Imagine any other person trying to supply for an entire village or region or country, let alone the entire world. Mankind is dependent on God for its supplies, and God’s storehouses are big enough. He opens His hand and gives what is needed. “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing” (Ps. 145:15-16).

There are reasons why God supplies for His children. One reason is in response to their cries for help. God is not unconcerned or unresponsive when His children have needs, but He listens and answers. “I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill” (Ps. 3:4). God also supplies because of His character. God loves His children, and He delights in providing for them. “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant’” (Ps. 35:27).

When we say that God’s sheep do not lack, what does His supply include? Certainly, David does not enumerate every aspect, but it is clear that his thoughts go beyond mere physical needs. God does supply the physical, and it’s not just gruel; it’s good! “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps. 103:5). This includes physical strength in addition to the more practical provision.

God often supplies abundantly. This next verse implies a long-term provision as well as ministering to the whole person. “His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth” (Ps. 25:13). Of course, the entire range of provisions is more than just a checklist to God. God gives and supplies because He loves and cares. When He wraps His children in the blanket of His care, it is certain that their needs will be met. “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy [lovingkindness] shall compass him about” (Ps. 32:10).

One of the things I love best about this study is seeing the truth of Psalm 23 evidenced in the life and testimony of David. If indeed he wrote the psalm in his later years, these are some of the evidences he might have been remembering.

When the Amalekites raided Ziklag, they burned the city, captured the women and children, and carried off the spoils. God led David and his men to victory over the marauding Amalekites, and this is the outcome. “And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all” (I Sam. 30:19).

What about when David was anointed as king? “And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron” (II Sam. 2:3). David and his men had been on the run for seven to eight years, and God now provided by giving them homes and cities in which their households could dwell. Even before God blessed them with homes in Hebron, however, He had met their needs for the previous seven to eight years. David started with 400 men, a number that increased to at least 600. And God provided.

In the Psalms, David bears testimony to God’s provision. “LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong” (Ps. 30:7). David is not referring to a meager existence, in which he was barely scraping by. No, God made David’s position strong and well-established.

Perhaps the most powerful testimony is this final verse. See, David could have proclaimed God’s provision after a single outstanding incident or for just a stage of his life. But here’s where the power of his testimony lies. “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Ps. 37:25). David never had reason to change his mind about God’s provision. He never said, “Ooops! I spoke too soon. I never should have written that psalm, because now I see it isn’t true.” No, no, no! He got to the end of his life more convinced than ever! Does the Shepherd provide for the needs of His sheep? Yes, faithfully. From beginning to end. Because the LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

May our good Shepherd supply every need that you currently have, giving you all that you need for all that you face. His storehouses are big enough, His heart is loving enough, and His hand is stretched out. He is faithful!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

06142025 The Lord Is My Shepherd

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our loving Shepherd. Over the past few years, I have spent a lot of time meditating on Psalm 23, and it has become much more precious to me. I had an idea about this psalm which has taken me a while to develop. I think I have reached the point of being able to flesh out the truths for which I have been gathering the supporting texts. Over the next few months, I hope to share with you what I am learning.

David, the shepherd boy, wrote the Shepherd’s psalm, about the LORD as his shepherd. But did he write the psalm as a young man? I have always tended to think of it in this way. That David, as a teenaged shepherd boy, wrote this psalm as he sat in the fields watching over the sheep. He wrote of God as a Shepherd because it was a picture that was very much a part of his life at the time. He understood what a shepherd was and what a shepherd did for those under his care.

As I have meditated much on Psalm 23, however, I have come to see it as the writings of a very mature man. Of a man who has passed through many things and has seen God as a Shepherd over a long and faithful life. As I have thought along these lines, I have pondered what it would be like to consider the psalm from the perspective of its author. What was David thinking about when he wrote his words? What is the background and the depth of belief behind the various phrases?

To answer this question, I went through the remainder of the psalms that are attributed to David and also through the historical narratives about David. I tried to identify passages that would give insight into David’s words of Psalm 23. Certainly, I have missed some things. At times, it is hard to know just which phrase from Psalm 23 to connect the supports with. And there must be some assumption or mental conclusion about the meaning and intent of each phrase from Psalm 23. My study is not perfect by any means, but it is my goal to see perhaps more clearly the significance of David’s words in Psalm 23 by supporting them with the rich and deep experience of his life and other writings.

“The LORD is my Shepherd.”

I take this to be David’s acknowledgement of both belonging to God and depending on God. There is a sense of origin and sustaining in God, of belonging to and being claimed by Him. David’s very life is staked on the fact that He has a relationship with God, with God who has determined for Himself a mighty role in the lives of His children, a role that defines how God and His children interact. God is the indispensable source of guidance and provision.

This belonging and dependence happened from the very beginning of David’s life. “I was cast upon thee from the womb; thou art my God from my mother’s belly” (Ps. 22:10). “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb” (Ps. 139:13).

The Shepherd is the source of all that is good for David’s life. It is only because he belongs to God that he can survive. “O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou are my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee” (Ps. 16:2). “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me” (Ps. 56:9).

Only the Shepherd can keep David and lead Him in the right ways. “The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy” (Ps. 145:20). “I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons” (Ps. 16:7).

David saw God as his Shepherd, the One who watched over him with favor and blessed his path. As individual as that relationship was, David also knew that it was not a relationship exclusive to him. This is how God interacts with all of His children. “Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee” (I Chr. 17:24). “Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed [shepherd] them also, and lift them up for ever” (Ps. 28:9).

When David said, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” he saw the One to whom he belonged, the One who watched over him from before his birth, the One who was on his side for all of life, the One who kept and guided him, and the One who committed Himself to claiming and watching over all His children in the same way He carried David.

May you find comfort and strength in the knowledge that your good Shepherd claims you, guides you, watches over and provides for you. You belong to Him, and that means everything!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

06072025 Seeking Answers

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our good and patient God. God knows just what to do to mature us, and He does not abandon His process.

I have often been blessed by Psalm 73, and I have often related to it. In this psalm, Asaph struggles deeply, but he fights for truth. I thank God for reinforcing this lesson for me over and over again. In fact, a large proportion of the truth I know exists because God has forced me to earnestly seek it.

Here’s the danger. (I mean for Christians at large.) When life moves along more or less okay, Christians don’t have a problem with God. But when very difficult situations arise, suddenly their experience no longer matches their idea of God. Sometimes these troubled Christians then make wrong conclusions: God doesn’t care, God isn’t real, etc. Then they get mad at God and turn their back on Him.

Here is my stabilizing truth: What is not true CANNOT be the right explanation. If I am leaning toward an untruth, then there is some piece of understanding that I am missing. I won’t always know what that missing understanding is; sometimes God reserves that knowledge for Himself and simply asks me to walk by faith. Many times, however, I can seek and find the truth.

The process is something like a multiple choice question. Question: Because my life is so hard right now, which of the following is the explanation? A. God doesn’t love me. B. God has forgotten about me. C. God isn’t real. D. God has turned His back on me. E. None of the above.

The answer is E. None of the above. But E is not a vacant or nebulous non-answer. There is truth that fits choice E. If we don’t know what fits there, we have to accept by faith that God knows what choice E is. It can be very helpful, though, if we can discover some of that answer. Then we have stabilizing truth to which we can cling.

So here’s Asaph. He is so disillusioned with the seeming prosperity of the wicked compared to his own struggles (vs. 3-11) that he feels like his efforts to live for God have been totally worthless (vs. 13-14). He is at the point of falling (v. 2). Asaph was looking for the answer in choices A-D, and he was just about to circle one of them. But something in Asaph was not satisfied. How do we know he didn’t like any of the answers he was coming up with? When he ponders speaking his chosen answer, he knows it cannot be correct. “If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children” (v. 15). He feels terrible about the answer he is contemplating. “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me” (v. 16). “Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee” (vs. 21-22).

Then he remembered! To his great relief and comfort, he remembered. There is an option E! None of the above! As Asaph seeks to know what option E is, I believe he finds at least three components.

First, he realizes that what he has been concluding is not the truth. “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end” (v. 17). He had not been considering all the facts, so his question was based on a faulty premise. Verses 18-20 continues his understanding of the major fact he had been missing.

Second, he remembers that God is with him. “Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand” (v. 23). “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works” (v. 28). Actually, Asaph had started his psalm with his conclusion – something that he didn’t see in the moment, but that was later revealed to him as an anchor. “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart” (v. 1).

Third, he takes comfort that God is ministering to his heart. “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (v. 26). He realizes that God is actively helping him in his struggle. “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (v. 24).

If I ask myself whether Asaph fully understood what option E was, I don’t think he did. But I think he ended up in the place where he was fully assured that option E was correct and that God knew that option was. In the meantime, Asaph contented himself and comforted himself with three contributing truths: he didn’t know all the facts, God was with him, and God could keep his heart.

I don’t mean to imply by this study that I think any of you are at the point of collapse. But even if your trials and struggles are much less intense than Asaph’s crisis, I hope you will be encouraged in remembering that God always knows what option E is. When we don’t know, we can rest in the truth that we do know. We can seek truth to counter our doubts and to encourage our faith. Asaph’s anchors are a good place to start. God knows the answer. God knows all the facts. God is with you. God can keep your heart. Take care, my friends. Rest in God.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA