What if I sat with each verse of Psalm 23 as if it were written for those of us walking a lonely path? What if I paraphrased it or people living with chronic illness? (Bettie Gilbert)
FINDING COMFORT AND HOPE IN PSALMS
After a year of mystery and confusion in my chronic illness treatments, I felt my weary soul being drawn back to read the book of Psalms. The honesty and raw emotion there brought comfort and camaraderie to my aching spirit. Ah, yes, here was the identity and true hope I had longed for!
When I paused at Psalm 23, I wondered if I would see the repetition of such familiar words as just another chain upon my dreary days. I had heard it all before, again and again. Yet, I felt a strange urging to see it differently.
- What if I saw this Psalm written not only for sheep following a shepherd, but also for another unique group of people longing for guidance and care?
- What if I sat with each verse as if it were written for those of us walking a lonely path?
- What if I paraphrased Psalm 23 for people living with chronic illness?
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD (Psalm 23:1-6 ESV)
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.
THE LORD IS MY CAREGIVER (Psalm 23:1-6, paraphrased)
The Lord is my caregiver, so I lack nothing for my care.
He calls me to rest in quiet places and to lie down when my body needs to pause. No flare can ruffle the surface of the still waters I rest beside.
He restores me after post-exertional malaise. Then He paces my days for me, leading me for His good purposes to bring glory to His name.
Even though the darkness of pain and death engulf me, the light of Your presence pierces that very darkness; I am held within Your safe boundaries through every testing ground.
You invite me into Your fellowship in the midst of this disease's attacks. Then You lavishly pour Your oil of comfort over me.
Whatever happens to me, I can be sure that Your mercy and goodness will surround me, and that my home is with You forever.
MY DAILY PRAYER
This paraphrase became my daily prayer over the following months as more confusion, more testing, and more diagnoses were added to my days. The Lord provided exactly what my weary soul longed for as I paused and let Him rewrite my prayers with His words for me.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER
- Would you pause with a beloved Psalm today?
- Could you take a meaningful phrase from it and apply it in your own situation?
- Which psalm do you find yourself drawn to again and again? Instead of quickly skimming through the familiar words, look for phrases that specifically relate to your life right now.
MAY WE PRAY WITH YOU TODAY?
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Your Word to us, especially for the poems and prayers found in the Psalms. Lord, stir our hearts to pause and listen to what You are saying to us today. Help us to offer You our weary and confused thoughts, and receive fresh comfort and hope from You. We praise You, the true Great Shepherd of our souls! We pray in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
INVITATION
Would you like to write your own psalm? Chronic Joy’s printable resource, Praying the Psalms, can provide helpful guidance. You can also discover an essential list (with Biblical references) of 200 names of God that can help you get to know God better.
Bettie Gilbert
You can find Bettie blogging from her home in the far north suburbs of Chicago at bettiegsraseasons.com. She is walking forward with Jesus in the middle of her pain and weakness from multiple chronic illnesses. The beauty of nature and her family (including ten grandchildren) are Bettie's joys. She and her husband have been married for over 40 years and take great delight in their weekend coffee breaks together.
Abiding in Him is a devotional memoir by Bettie and her husband, Barry.
Praying the Psalms
The Psalms are filled with raw honesty, calm reflection, and deep wisdom. They contain words we can pray to God when we cannot find our own.
Bettie, thank you for this reminder that God walks with us in every season of life. Today is a pain day for me. I will see my pain doctor this afternoon. Hopefully, he will have answers to help my back pain. Have a blessed day dear friend. 🙂
Oh Melissa, I am so thankful that the Lord brought you encouragement here.
May you feel his tender caregiving heart so near to you at your appointment today. Blessings and soft hugs!
What a comforting post you wrote, Bettie. Thank you for sharing a part of your heart for our benefit. I’ve sadly discounted Psalm 23 because of hearing and reading it so much through the years, but your paraphrase stirred my heart and gave it new application for me causing me to muse over further truths in it.
May God give back to you even far more than you give us and your dear husband also.
With love,
Melody
Thank you for this. I burst into tears when reading this. I needed to read this today and I’m looking forward to adding it to my prayers, which seem far away lately. God’s timing is perfect.
I love what you’ve done here Bettie – and, oh, how He wants us to put our needs and challenges and rejoicings into these psalms. I”ve done this recently with my grandson when I was teaching it to him and created a prayer for him. I wish more people understood how to pray psalms interactively. You took your suffering and turned it into grace!