What if the greatest gift you could give your children isn't protection from every hardship—but confidence in the Good Shepherd who walks with them through every valley?

In today's episode of The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries, Stephanie Hickox explores 2 Chronicles 1, Psalm 72, and the beloved Psalm 23. Together, we'll discover how God's wisdom, care, and presence provide everything parents need to faithfully raise children in an uncertain world.

Beginning with Solomon's humble request for wisdom, we're reminded that true success comes not from wealth, power, or achievement, but from seeking God above all else. Then, in Psalm 72, we see a king's desire to govern with righteousness, compassion, and justice—qualities every Christian parent longs to cultivate in their own home.

The heart of this episode centers on Psalm 23, one of the most treasured passages in Scripture. Stephanie unpacks what it means for Jesus to be the Good Shepherd and how that truth transforms the fears, anxieties, and burdens so many moms carry for their children.

If you've ever worried about your child's future, struggled with fear over a diagnosis, wrestled with grief, or wondered whether God is truly caring for your family, this episode offers biblical encouragement and lasting hope.

In This Episode:

• Parenting with dependence on God's wisdom rather than human understanding
• How Psalm 72 encourages single moms and families who feel alone
• What Psalm 23 teaches about God's care for parents and children
• Finding peace when facing medical uncertainty and difficult diagnoses
• Trusting God when you cannot control your child's circumstances
• Understanding God's goodness in seasons of suffering and hardship
• How Jesus restores wounded hearts and guides families through life's valleys
• Learning to exchange fear for confidence in the Good Shepherd

Key Scriptures:

• 2 Chronicles 1
• Psalm 72
• Psalm 23
• John 10 – Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Encouragement for Christian Moms

Whether you're navigating parenting challenges, special needs, medical concerns, grief, anxiety, or simply the daily responsibilities of motherhood, Psalm 23 reminds us that our children ultimately belong to the Shepherd who loves them even more than we do.

God's presence—not the absence of hardship—is our greatest source of peace.

The Lord is our Shepherd. He restores our souls. He walks beside us through every valley. And one day, we will dwell in His presence forever.

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another mom who needs the reminder that she doesn't carry the weight of her family alone.

Keywords: Christian parenting, Christian motherhood, Psalm 23, Good Shepherd, parenting anxiety, trusting God with your children, Bible study podcast, Christian mom encouragement, faith-based parenting, biblical motherhood, Christian family discipleship

Learn more about Entrusted Ministries and discover additional resources for Christian families at Entrusted Ministries.

Do you feel hopeless, discouraged, or anxious in your parenting? Can God redeem those mistakes and give peace and hope for the future? Yes, He truly can! Entrusted with a Child's Heart can encourage you to embrace the fresh start God has for you. This quick episode explains how this biblical parenting study can guide moms, bless your church, and actually help the leaders! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-again-podcast-for-christian-moms-encouragement-in/id1700555502

Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David

Welcome to The Dwelling Place.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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This is brought to you by

Entrusted Ministries, and today

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we're looking at 2 Chronicles

chapter one and Psalms 23 and 72.

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We don't know when David wrote Psalm

23, but he clearly had the perspective

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Of walking with the Lord through

all different circumstances and

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seeing God's faithfulness in them.

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we can be brief as we cover 2 Chronicles

chapter 1, because this is the

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chronicler's account of what we read

the other day in the book of Kings.

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When Solomon humbly and admirably

asked God for wisdom instead of

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riches and prosperity, And God

was pleased with his request.

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Next, we'll turn to Psalm 72.

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This is the second

Psalm that Solomon wrote

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It's attributed to him, but it's

likely that he penned these verses

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for his father when David didn't have

the strength to do it on his own.

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It reveals a king's heart

to rule well unto the Lord.

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Righteously and justly, and there's

a thread woven throughout asking

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for God to defend, deliver, and

provide for the poor and the needy.

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I love verses 12 through 14.

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And I think they're inspiring for all

of us, but particularly for single moms

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For he delivers the needy when he calls,

the poor and him who has no helper.

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He has pity on the weak and the needy

and saves the lives of the needy.

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From oppression and violence he

redeems their life, and precious

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is their blood in his sight.

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That line, God hears the needy when

they call and him who has no helper.

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It might even be just a season or a week

that your husband's on a business trip,

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and maybe you don't have any family

nearby But the Lord is there and He's

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present When we read that God redeems

our lives and our blood is precious

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in His sight, I'm reminded scripture

doesn't promise that God will prevent

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the shedding of our blood, but that

His people can trust Him for redemption

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And at the conclusion, " Blessed

be the Lord, the God of Israel,

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who alone does wondrous things.

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Blessed be His glorious name forever.

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May the whole earth be

filled with His glory.

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Amen and amen."

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Speaker 2: the prayers of David,

the son of Jesse, are ended

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Speaker 3: Think about the things

that David accomplished in his life.

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He has been a force for the Lord,

killing lions and bears in his

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youth, defeating Goliath and so many

enemies of Israel but he says, " God

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alone does wondrous things."

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And when I get to the end of my

life, I want to be more in awe

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of my Savior than ever before

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Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known

passages in all of scripture.

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Many believe we can be confident

that it was written from the

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perspective of an older David

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Spurgeon points out

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that it's because this Psalm

comes on the heels of Psalm 22

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that we can delight in it so much

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And it's really only when we

understand the blood that was shed

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That we can embrace the sweetness

of the Good Shepherd's care

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When Jesus said " I am the

good shepherd," in the original

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Greek, it translates to, " I

am the shepherd, the good one."

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Jesus set himself apart from the

legalism and bondage of the Pharisees

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Let's read

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Why Jesus' shepherding of

us is entirely different

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I'll read the chapter in its entirety, and

then we'll talk about it verse by verse

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The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

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He makes me lie down in green pastures.

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He leads me beside still waters.

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He restores my soul.

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He leads me in paths of

righteousness for His name's sake.

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Even though I walk through the

valley of the shadow of death, I will

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fear no evil, for You are with me.

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Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

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You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

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You anoint my head with oil.

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My cup overflows.

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Surely goodness and mercy shall follow

me all the days of my life, and I shall

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dwell in the house of the Lord forever

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Let's go back through.

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The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

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This doesn't say you

have everything you want.

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It's a commitment to not want

because you trust that if there's

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something God hasn't provided, it

must not be good for you right now.

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A good shepherd makes sure that his

sheep have everything they need, and

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if there's something we're desiring

that we've asked for, and the Lord

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has said, " Not yet" or "No," then

we can choose, I shall not want.

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I will submit to you, Lord

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He makes me lie down in green pastures.

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Just as a lot of our kids would eat

desserts and treats all day if we let

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them, sheep rarely know what they need.

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But the Lord in His goodness guides

us to the right places that will

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provide the nourishment that we need.

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He leads me beside still waters.

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If sheep drink from stagnant water, they

can take in bacteria that would harm them.

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But they're also not strong enough to

stand in water that's flowing too quickly.

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The wise shepherd leads

them beside still waters

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He restores my soul.

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We're living in an age where a lot of

moms would claim their biggest fear

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is that their children will experience

trauma It's a worthy endeavor to

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protect our kids' hearts, but we

can't walk in fear trying to protect

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them from every challenge and trial.

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Often, we are hoping away the

good discipline of the Lord that's

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going to shape and mold their

character to be more like Him.

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But also, if we remember that Jesus is

the one that restores our soul, we can

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lessen the power that the world has

to impact our and return the rightful

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title of Healer back to our Savior

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He leads me in paths of

righteousness for His name's sake.

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is a verse I've prayed over and over

last year, I had a friend who lost

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her young son as I prepared to see

them at the funeral, the Lord so

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vividly put this verse on my heart.

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" He leads them in paths of

righteousness for his name's sake."

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And I felt I could confidently encourage

this couple, " God is going to equip

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you to honor Him even in this trial."

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And I often pray it for myself that the

Lord allow me to glorify Him, not for

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my own reputation, but for His namesake

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Verse four.

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Even though I walk through the valley of

the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

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Christian, you are going to suffer.

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You will go through hard times.

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Probably death itself.

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But we don't have to fear

because the shadows exist because

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of how bright the light is.

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And even if that trial means the end of

your life on this earth, if you've trusted

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in Jesus Christ as your Savior, He has

rescued you for eternal life with Him.

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You can be at peace.

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I will fear no evil,

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For you are with me.

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This is consistent throughout scripture.

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Our reason to not fear is not

because God protects us from the

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trial, but because He walks with us

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Your rod and your staff, they comfort me

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when God sets boundaries,

redirects us, disciplines us

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and protects us, we can be comforted

Did you know that the rod and the staff

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could even be used to separate the

sheep's wool as they were looking for

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ticks and to remove different insects

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Speaker 2: That is certainly a part

of the curse that I'm sure we all wish

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wasn't part of living on this Earth,

and requires a lot of diligence.

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Speaker 3: But the loving shepherd is

thorough in his care God has the tools

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to do exactly what's needed for our

sanctification and for our protection

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You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

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I have a son with severe food allergies,

and I've always been comforted by

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this verse and God's sovereignty over

him But as I study this chapter more

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I realize this table is prepared now

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I picture the enemy on higher ground

looking down into the valley where

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the Lord has set a beautiful table If

you're a fan of Downton Abbey at all,

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you can picture those fancy picnics

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Do you see that beautiful table

set up in a vulnerable spot?

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But when you're with the Lord, you're

not even afraid that the enemy can

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see you because you know you're safe

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To this,

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Spurgeon says, " When a soldier is in the

enemy's presence, if he eats, he grabs a

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hasty meal and then hurries to the fight.

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Yet you prepare a table just as a

servant unfolds the damask cloth and

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displays the china, crystal, and silver

as on an ordinary peaceful occasion.

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Nothing is hurried.

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There is no confusion, no disturbance.

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The enemy is at the door, yet God prepares

a table, and the Christian sits and eats

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as if everything were in perfect peace."

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You anoint my head with oil.

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My cup overflows We need the Holy Spirit

to equip us to honor the Lord each day.

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Surely goodness and mercy shall

follow me all the days of my life.

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Every single day, we have

something to rejoice in

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There are good things God gives

us that we have not earned

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And mercy and forgiveness he offers,

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withholding consequences

that we don't deserve

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The psalm concludes, "And I shall dwell

in the house of the Lord forever."

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as much as I've meditated on this

theme of dwelling place I didn't

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even realize Psalm 23 had such an

overt mention of that premise This

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is the God, the Good Shepherd, that

promises to walk with us through life.

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And what we see as a glimpse,

someday we'll see fully.

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He will be our light, and we will dwell

with Him, and every valley that we've

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walked will make eternity that much

sweeter This week, one of my sons had

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to have a significant medical test done.

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I was well aware that this

potential diagnosis could change

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his life and even shorten it.

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And as I prayed for my son, I had

absolute peace in the Lord And what I

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couldn't help but pray most was that God

would move in His goodness to do what

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would have the biggest eternal benefit.

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I believe God is a healer, and I

believe in boldly petitioning Him

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but God covered me with his peace

And I was able to trust Him to

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act in the greatest eternal good

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This has not always been the case

for me, particularly with my kids,

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but I'm grateful the Lord gave me

clarity in how trustworthy he was.

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And praise the Lord That He

spared my son from that diagnosis.

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I don't know what you're walking

through today, but I know who you need.

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The Good Shepherd is

all-sufficient for each one of us.

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Let's pray Heavenly Father, we thank

you that you are the Good Shepherd.

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And as we seek to provide our kids with

the food and the shelter that they need,

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We can relate to your sacrificial love.

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I pray you would help us to understand

how deeply you care and how near you

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are to us I ask for freedom from

the fear that things will happen

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to our kids that you can't restore.

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You are a comforter.

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You are healer.

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You are redeemer and restorer,

and we trust you and your

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goodness to us and to our kids.

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For those areas of our hearts and our

kids' hearts that seem so deeply wounded,

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Give us hope your goodness and

guide us to walk righteously even in

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our pain for your namesake For those

battling sickness and overcoming tragedy

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I pray for the greatest

gift of your presence

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Thank you for the goodness

and mercy that you show us,

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Open our eyes to see the table that

you've prepared before us, and may

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our mouths overflow with praise to you

in the sight of all as we fully look

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forward to our wedding feast with the

Savior who is not just the shepherd

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But who is also the lamb who

laid down his life for us.

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Jesus, we thank you.

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Amen.