Day 3
Listen:
Do you ever feel like you’re falling short or you are not enough? This feeling can lead to the drive to achieve, strive, and look for praise that will confirm our worth. This is a relentless pressure with no win in sight, because our striving doesn’t bring peace and doesn’t measure our true value. This year at Vertical Reality, we spent the last session learning about Psalm 23. One of my favorite things about this passage is the reminder that we are loved, valued, and cared for because we belong to God, the shepherd.
Today’s Passage: Psalm 23:1–4
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
Look It Up: Look up Psalm 23 in your Bible and highlight all of the things that the shepherd does for the sheep. Underline and circle what God provides and how he cares.
Reflect: In this passage God is the shepherd and we are his sheep. He is letting us know that we are loved and valued because we belong to him, not because of anything we can achieve or anything we can do. Not only does God value us, but he cares for us. He gives us what we need. He wants us to rest in safety. He cares about our soul. He is with us. So if you are living with the stress and pressure to achieve and be worthy, just know that God says you are already enough. You are loved and valuable to him.
Write It Down: Grab your journal and answer these questions.
Where are you struggling to achieve or to be seen as worthy?
What are the things you are doing to be seen as “good enough” or to gain attention?
How are you feeling with this pressure to measure up?
What does this passage say that God wants for you? What does it say he will give you?
Pray: Tell God how you are feeling about the areas in your life where you are struggling to see your worth. Ask him to pour the words from this passage over your soul and remind you that you belong to him. Sit quietly and think about what this passage is saying to you personally.