Beside Quiet Waters: Psalm 23Sample

He restores my soul

When you mess up, what course does your internal narrative take? Do you find yourself moving from guilt to shame? From the sense that you did something bad to the belief that you are something bad?

In motherhood, shame is single handedly the biggest thing I’ve wrestled with. There are countless times I lose my patience when my toddler won’t obey me, or everyone is crying for me at once. There are many moments when I feel resentment toward my spouse and make hurtful comments to him.

But while these situations are difficult, what’s hardest for me is the shame that follows. I struggle with believing lies that I’m a bad mom, a bad wife, a bad Christian. If you can relate, I want to encourage you with a truth that has brought me so much comfort to me.

In Psalm 23:3, David says God restores his soul. This phrase conveys a sense of general soul refreshment, but it also means something deeper. The word “restore” here means to be made spiritually new. The idea is of a repentant soul being brought back and restored to its good standing before God.

When we struggle or fail, God does not wait for us to clean ourselves up and get back on track. He draws near to repentant hearts, hearts that acknowledge their sin and seek forgiveness, and he restores them, making them new again. We have a continual perfect standing before God because of Christ’s blood shed on our behalf. Our worth and identity, therefore, are not tied up in our performance but are wholly founded on God’s unconditional love for us.

Today, if you belong to the Good Shepherd, remember that there is no occasion in which you could call yourself bad, messed up, or too far gone. No, in Jesus, you are good, loved, and eternally his.