The three positions of God

 Psalm 23:1The LORD  is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. 3He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 Psalm 23 is a beautiful psalm that portraits life down here. Here we find God is three different positions according to where David is in his life. In the first few verses, we find him in FRONT leading. We need God in front of us to lead us and guide us where to go. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness. But then, when he is going through difficult times in the valley of the shadow of death, God is not anymore in front leading, but rather he says, you are WITH me. You are right beside me. There are times in our life when we need God closer. That’s when he is WITH us. Comforting us with his rod and staff. Then, in the last verse, we find God not in front leading, and not besides comforting, but he is coming AFTER me. He is following me with his goodness and mercy. That’s what we need when we fail to let him lead us, or when we fall walking through the valley even though he is with us. When we stumble and fall on this journey, he is also coming after us, to pick us up with his goodness and mercy. 

In front LEADING

Beside me COMFORTING

Following me with MERCY

Oh what a savior !!!!