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Series: Day 30 | Psalm 23:1 | He Restores My Soul | For His Name’s Sake
Do you remember learning about tenses in English class? Past, present, future – those were always easy. But then there were those weird sub-tenses like present perfect, past continuous, and future perfect continuous. Don’t ask me the difference between all of them, because frankly,
I have no clue.
It wasn’t until I was writing papers for school that I began to understand the importance of recognizing tenses. It is impossible to follow a storyline without tenses. And if you get the tenses wrong, you get the whole story wrong.
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. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. | Psalm 23:1-6
Did you catch the tense change there? In verses 1-5, the present tense is used to describe God’s promises to us – promises that are current, present, happening NOW.
Right NOW, God is acting as our Good Shepherd, making us lounge in the green pastures of His Word, leading us along still waters and righteous paths, restoring our souls to Him and in Him, remaining with us always, comforting us, preparing sustenance for us and anointing our simple, little sheep heads with oil.
We are basking in His goodness, favor,
and love this very second.
Take a quick inventory of your life. Can you find any failure on God’s part in fulfilling verses 1-5 to you in the present? Should any discrepancies arise, no doubt they originate with us – our actions, our failures, our sin.
Throughout our lives, God shows these five verses in action towards us. They provide the reason for our hope and peace in this life. Because of this, we can confidently trust in Him for the future. And the future is exactly what we find in verse six: unending goodness and mercy and a forever dwelling place with the Good Shepherd Himself. In other words:
present-tense promises with a future, eternal payout.
How incredible! Our Good Shepherd is clearly deeply invested in us, His precious sheep.
When we surrender our hearts and our wills to God, we clear the stage for Him to work in our lives. Those present-tense promises become clearly manifested for us, allowing us to acknowledge the Lord for His favor. And as we surrender, as we enjoy those present-tense promises of God, we are able to confidently trust Him with our eternities. We can rest in knowing that whatever unknowns the future holds, His goodness, mercy, and continued presence are
G U A R A N T E E D.
So chase after Him. Pursue Him right NOW, knowing that He is currently working, currently loving, currently present in your life. Pursue Him, knowing that as you close the gap, a trail of His goodness and mercy will be seen in the aftermath of each moment of your life. Just follow the storyline: Surrender to Him and enjoy His promises. Pursue Him and know Him more fully. And witness as His faithfulness
Come Awake 
“PRESENT-TENSE PROMISES WITH A FUTURE, ETERNAL PAYOUT.” Such a beautiful reminder! ❤ The last line about His faithfulness enveloping us is so very true! We have witnessed that in our 2 years of marriage – celebrating today! 🙂 God is good.
Hi Vini girl! Thanks for stopping by & sharing your thoughts! Yay for two years of marital bliss! Thankful to the Lord for His faithfulness to y’all & for giving y’all the ability to recognize that faithfulness over the years. Indeed, He truly is good! Always! 🙂