Psalm 23:3 is sometimes divided up into two different thoughts; “He (the Lord) restores by soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” This is not two different thoughts, but rather one. The Lord restores my soul by leading me in paths of righteousness. The word “restore” is a Hebrew word that means to bring back from wandering. It is used mostly in the Old Testament as the word “repent.”
This reveals one of the amazing ways of God; He gives us the gift of repentance (restoring my soul) by showing us the path of righteousness. In other words, God does not clobber us over the head with how wrong we are. He keeps revealing to us how right we can be if we will just trust Him and recieve the gift of being restored by Him, the gift of repentance, trusting His invitation to go a different way.
The invitation to His way, the path of righteousness, is presented to us with the outcome; it will glorify His name. This is one of the wonderful gifts of God. It is also one that we need on a regular basis; being restored.
Are you willing to pray like this? “Lord Jesus, I am so prone to wandering off; off on my own plans, off into blaming others, off into constantly blaming myself, off into areas that You have said are off limits because of the destruction that is waiting there; show me the way that You are leading me; reveal to me the wonderful path where You are glorified. I want to walk that way…” More next week.
I love how the 23rd Psalm is written in the current tense. I think that's why I find it so comforting.--Karina
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