HE RESTORES MY SOUL - PSALM 23 - Part 8
El restaura mi alma - Salmos 23 - Parte 8
By Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Have you ever felt overwhelmed? [Photographer: James Stewart, courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
Psalm 23:3 "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake." (New King James Version)
Salmos 23:3 "El restaura mi alma; me guía por senderos de justicia por amor de su nombre." (La Biblia de las Américas)
Have you ever felt as though circumstances were overwhelming you? Have you faced danger? Perhaps you have faced a situation that was beyond your control. Most of us have at one time or another.
For me, it was a morning when it was my turn to drive the car pool to take the children to school. We owned two cars because my husband worked a different shift every week. However, his car was in the repair shop when he was working the day shift. That meant that I had to drive him to work near the airport as well as drive the children to school. That situation required that I drive the Interstate highway.
As I approached the point where the two Interstate highways intersected each other, I had to leave one of them and drive up a curving ramp onto the other. At the best of times, that is not an easy change to make. That morning I encountered a difficult situation as I drove in the left lane next to a concrete median.
As I rounded the curve that took us to the second Interstate, I saw a car stalled next to the left-hand divider.
There was only slightly more room on the curving left lane of the highway that day than there is on the one in this photo. [Photographer: Mohamed Saleem, courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
The car beside me in the right lane prevented me from going around the motionless vehicle. With another car behind me, there was also no time to stop or even slow down before I collided with that vehicle.
As I prepared for impact, I implored, "Oh, Jesus!" I was not taking the Lord's name in vain because I needed Him right there and then! Since impact seemed unavoidable, I thought all four of our souls were on their way to Heaven.
Through a miracle that I have yet to understand, we passed that car without a collision. That had to have been Heavenly intervention! God answered my prayer when He kept our souls in our earthly bodies a bit longer!
As two-legged sheep, it is our nature to get into difficulties, according to the analogy that the shepherd/king, David, began in Psalm 23:1. The first part of Isaiah 53:6 even confirms that nature when it says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way." (New King James Version).
In order to be consistent in comparing himself with a sheep, I believe that David intended the word "restore" to mean, "return to its previous location." While I am aware that translations other than the King James and the New King James Versions use different words instead of "restore," I believe that departs from the comparison of humans to sheep.
All we like sheep have gone astray. [Photographer: A. D., courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
In the same way that wolves and other predators attempt to snatch defenseless lambs from the flock, the devil tries to rob us of our souls. He is not after our bodies or our money. Satan wants our souls. Toward that end, he uses situations and other people to try to steal our souls from us.
But, similar to the way that an earthly shepherd brings back stray lambs from fierce predators, God rescues and returns our souls to their locations in our bodies. That is His response to cries such as the one that David uttered in Psalm 16:1 when he cried out, "Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust." (New King James Version)
When we trust God, He will answer in His time because He is the ultimate Good Shepherd.
Bible Verses for this Posting
Isaiah 53:6a "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way." (New King James Version)
Isaías 53:6a "Todos nosotros nos descarriamos como ovejas, cada cual se apartó por su camino." (Reina-Valera 1960)
Psalm 16:1 "Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust." (New King James Version)
Salmos 16:1 "Guárdame, oh Dios, porque en ti he confiado." (Reina-Valera 1960)
All we have to do is call on His name and ask God to help us, as this praying man is doing. [Photographer: Mark Manalaysay, courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
Psalm 23 - 1) The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. 2) He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3) He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever." (New King James Version)
Salmos 23 - 1) El Señor es mi pastor; nada me faltará. 2) En lugares de verdes pastos me hace descansar; junto a aguas de reposo me conduce. 3) El restaura mi alma; me guía por senderos de justicia por amor de su nombre. 4) Aunque pase por el valle de sombra de muerte, no temeré mal alguno, porque tú estás conmigo; tu vara y tu cayado me infunden aliento. 5) Tú preparas mesa delante de mí en presencia de mis enemigos; has ungido mi cabeza con aceite; mi copa está rebosando. 6) Ciertamente el bien y la misericordia me seguirán todos los días de mi vida, y en la casa del SEÑOR moraré por largos días." (La Biblia de las Américas)
