and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever!”
Psalm 23 has had a reoccurring presence in my life the last few years and has become a tried and true foundational anthem for my striving heart. The Psalm itself is short and sweet, but it profoundly lays the groundwork for our identity and our faith: come as you are, you have a place at My table, I’ll take it from here.
With all its enticements, false promises and ever-changing expectations, the world has set us up for failure. But the Lord, with His never-ceasing mercy, unchanging character, deep love and carefully crafted mighty purposes, has set a table for us. It’s brimming with all we need and overflowing with replenishment, nourishment and intimacy. He is the ultimate dinner party host—asking us to trust Him and simply relax in His presence. What a luxury.
Over the last couple of years, the Lord has spoken these healing words from the psalms over me: Be still. I consistently avoided rest, I pursued busyness and I attempted to manage every aspect of my life, causing me to always be tired. It was difficult for me to grasp that Jesus’ last words on the cross were It Is Finished not Go And Do More.
But God has repeatedly me brought me back to Psalm 23, teaching me to stop, to let my striving cease and let Him do the work. True peace, which lifts burdens and calms the tides of our restless hearts, comes from being still in God’s presence. I had to learn how to create that time and space for intimacy with Him so I could fully embrace His promises, provisions and security for me.
I will fight for you, you need only be still – Exodus 14:14
When it comes to Psalm 23, I have found it to be so profound that God literally asks us to do basically nothing. He’s not like, “Hey girl, you need to get this cleaned up before you come to the table.” He never actually asks us to lift a finger but rather tells us to kick off our shoes, throw our feet up (dirty socks and all) and stay a while. How counter-culture. But also, how God of Him. He says in Luke that “(His) yoke is easy and (His) burden is light” – it’s not heavy or burdensome, weary or stressful. It is full of blessings, joy, restoration and replenishment. This bedrock promise is all about Him and what He does for us. It’s not on us. He wants you're striving to cease. He has gone before us and taken care of every detail. He's going to prepare the meal. He's going to prepare the harvest. He’s going to restore, heal, renew, revive. It's about what He has done and what He can do.
He came not to be served but to serve! – Matthew 20:28
Amidst all of our daily distractions, I wanted to create a wearable reminder of His foundational truth, His unshakable promises, His immeasurable hope, His endless and immense love for each of us. For years I’ve been on the hunt for an easy gift to give a friend who was in need of a reminder that God sees her. But if we’re honest with ourselves, Christian jewelry hasn’t exactly been pegged as fashion forward—we’re talking cheesy and bulky, or beautiful and pricey. I had a hard time finding an in between, so here we are. First came the Honeycomb Collection and now the Psalm 23 Bracelet. God has used my testimony of messiness and failings to bring me to a place that I still can’t fathom, so it has become my greatest joy to proclaim His Name through conversational and purpose-centered jewelry at Golden Thread. My prayer is that we each continue to seek more wisdom from Psalm 23 and to truly find soul-fulfilling rest in His presence—no matter if this is a calm and relaxing season or more chaotic and busier than ever. Psalm 23 has the most essential cornerstone promises of God that are not based on our circumstances, rather they are freely available to us at all times. Seek, find and accept this rich and priceless treasure you’ve been searching for!
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. — Matthew 11:28-30
I hope, with everything in me, that this bracelet is a sweet, sweet reminder for what God has done, from where He rescued you from, for what He is doing in you and the wonders He performs on your behalf. As humans, we can’t hear this enough. Our one true identity is validated in Him and Him alone.
So as you start preparing for the holidays and Christmas season, I hope you look no further than the Psalm 23 Bracelet. Use it as a tool to help memorize scripture or to prompt Gospel-centered conversation. I am so excited for what God has in store for the expansion of His Kingdom through something as small as jewelry.
Before I wrap up, I wanted to share the symbolism of each of the 10 colors in the bracelet in accordance with Psalm 23’s 10 stanzas:
As we enter in to this holiday season, here’s to knowing who you are in Christ Jesus, what you have available to you in His Mighty Name, when you need Him you know where to find Him, where He is at all times is right next to you and why He has come back for you over and over. It is because of His endless and all-consuming love for you…His Beloved!
Next time I write we’ll start going through each verse more in depth. I figured the best way to break it all down was to focus in a little at a time and really press in to some of the key words and phrases used in Psalm 23. We’ll start with verses 1 and 2 (The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters), where I’ll dig deeper in to God’s guidance and insistence for us to rest. We welcomed home our sweet puppy Shepherd (Shep, for short) 8 months ago, whom we named after the Good Shepherd, to serve as just another daily reminder of the One, the only One, who is faithful and trustworthy. I am not at a loss for words on it— I’ll tell you that now! (As promised, here’s a puppy picture!)
I hope you enjoy and find great hope in our Lord!
Stay tuned for our upcoming Psalm 23 series,
