A Thanksgiving psalm

November 22, 2007

By William E. Richardson

I’ve heard people recite the 23rd Psalm for most of my life. It’s so well known, many who don’t know God personally, can quote the words. For a believer, each phrase so well describes our relationship to the Shepherd we don’t want the psalm to lose its meaning through rote repetition.

I suggest a new exercise this Thanksgiving holiday — for believers to take a new approach to David’s poem about our relationship with God.

If you live daily as a sheep under the Good Shepherd’s care, try thinking of Psalm 23 not only as the statement of faith it is but also as a psalm that thanks God for specific ways He provides. I challenge you to write out a paraphrased version of each line. Then use your psalm as a personal Thanksgiving meditation and/or to read aloud to others.

Here’s an example to get you thinking:

Thank You, Lord for watching over me so well, I am in need of nothing.

I thank You for giving me peaceful rest when I feel I’m going a hundred different directions. Thank You for providing soothing quietness amid the noises of my life.

I praise You for keeping me on the straight and narrow path. I exalt You for returning me to it when I tend to stray. Your continual guidance brings honor to Your name.

Thank You for Your presence when I feel the cold breath of danger and possible death on my neck. Thank You that I need not fear what will happen next because Your reassuring protection never leaves me.

Thank You for the times when I never needed to fret about those working against me, though they seemed to surround me like wolves. In those times, You sustained me and shielded me with Your overwhelming blessings.

I’m so grateful, for I have no reason to doubt that You will show me Your goodness and, when I need it, Your mercy for as long as I live. Out of a thankful heart to the kind of provider You are, I choose to always be faithful to Your house.

In its most recognizable form, the 23rd Psalm reminds us that God who has provided in the past will provide in the future. He always has met our needs. He always will.

This Thanksgiving, try a personalized paraphrase. If you keep it just between you and God, it’ll enhance your worship. If you read it to others, it will likely enrich their thoughts of thankfulness to the Shepherd.

William E. Richardson is senior pastor of Afton (Iowa) Assembly of God.