Psalm 23: 5b, “You anoint my head with oil;”
[Shepherds put oil on the heads of their sheep to keep away pesky insects, to heal wounds, to refresh and so when the sheep butt heads, they will slide by and not be badly injured.
Oil here can represent many things: the Holy Spirit, protection, blessing and healing. You, Lord, provide for us all these blessings and more in your gracious giving, pouring out continually from your unending, inexhaustible store of riches.
As it says in Ephesians 1:2 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who HAS blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians goes on to detail some of these blessings:
–He chose us before the foundation of the world.
–He has made us holy and without blame before Him in love.
–He predestined us to be adopted as His children.
–It was His good pleasure to adopt us.
–We are accepted in the Beloved, Christ.
–In Him we have redemption through His blood.
–We have the forgiveness of ours sins according to the riches of His endless grace.
— And in 1 Peter 1:3 it says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life….” ]
Truly, “My cup runs over.”
[You, Lord, give us what we need–and far more. What I actually need is air, water, food, clothing, shelter and love. But when I look at all you have given me, it is way beyond that, much more than what I need spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, socially, financially and in every other realm.
Now it is my privilege and responsibility to share these with others, to let your blessings flow through me to those around me. For example, the joy you give me should bring joy to others as I am kind, thoughtful, positive and helpful to them, whether I feel like it or not.
The material provisions you’ve given I should be sharing around. The spiritual riches you give I should also be passing along, for, in your Kingdom, getting and hoarding is not the norm, but receiving and giving.
So, when we go to church on Sunday, we can go filled with the Lord’s riches and grace as well as insights from our quiet times during the week, ready to give to others as they have need, as well as to receive what the Lord may have for us. May we continually overflow with the wonder of our walk with our Shepherd, Jesus, bringing encouragement, hope and perspective to all around us.]
