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The Royal Psalm speaks to a gravely ill person
A man was lying on the isolation ward of a hospital. He had suddenly been torn away from his job and could no longer keep his scheduled appointments. He had neglected urgent business, become seriously ill and had no prospect of a quick recovery. Then he suddenly saw a writing on the wall at the foot of his bed. It was written with ornate silver letters on a black background:
PSALM 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want!
When the sick person read these words, he became angry. He said to himself: What nonsense! Everything is lacking me: health, future, money, power and freedom. Angrily he rang the senior sister in this Christian Hospital and categorically demanded that the quote be removed immediately.
The sister listened patiently to the patient, gave him tranquilizers and said she could not arbitrarily remove the phrase, being that it belonged to the hospital. The patient, however, burst out: "I do not want to hear anything from a Lord that allows me to get sick and have my business ruined."
The sister smiled and replied: "I will pass on your request and pray for your recovery".
After the sister had gone, the attention of the patient was magnetically drawn to the testimony of David: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want! The patient growled: "If there is a God...! Is there a God anyway? If there is: Yes, then I would have lived wrongfully! Without Him! Against Him! Ungodly! But there is no God! This is all pious nonsense. Away with the quote!"
But the words stuck to the wall, and God spoke to him by just these simple words. The man thought to himself: Many confess that the Lord is their shepherd. They seem to be secure. I do not feel that way. My inside is empty, churning and hurried. All my thoughts revolve around money and profit. If God really exists I would be the dumbest man on earth.
The word kept on speaking to the troubled heart of the guilty man: "If there really is a God, you have so far lived your life in vain. Nothing but selfishness, wrongdoing and debt has accumulated in your past. You will come to the Judgment!.... No!" cried the patient, "there cannot be a God, otherwise I would have lived wrongfully and would find myself in a hopeless situation."
Hours and days went by. The words remained on the wall. The patient was annoyed by them, yet was not able to draw his attention away from David's testimony.
"If there is a God, despite my opposition, and He punishes me now because of my ungodly life so that I must stay in bed for who knows how long, then perhaps it is true that the Lord is my shepherd. But he is not a caring pastor, but a punishing judge who beats me. God is after me to judge me."
The patient growled at the sister: "Why is your God so unfair as leave me in bed for so long?" The nurse replied: "The Lord is not unfair, but wants to talk to you. He leads you into quiet solitude, so that you can think about yourself and your Creator."
When the sister was gone again, it went through the patient's mind that his disease might also contain a gracious intent of the good Shepherd - not to destroy him - but to bring him into a solitude of the senses, which just might be the purpose of him being where he was. "But even if the Lord is my shepherd, I am missing everything: health, money, power, freedom," he growled, being bound to the bed.
After a week of internal conflict with the quote, new thoughts penetrated the heart of the man who had been forced to rest: "If the Lord is my shepherd, what then should change in my life?" Crooked financial transactions, sexual offences, his ruthlessness against others and a catalog of real sins invaded his mind in lightning speed. "No, I do not want to remember, to let go or to forget. Who cares anyway," was his response.
But David's life theme slowly conquered the pride of the patient. The rebels' resistance grew weaker. He just growled: "God, if you do exist, can’t you just heal me quickly, so that my business will not be ruined!"
But there was no answer, just the writing on the wall. Suddenly, and like a flash, an idea shot through the patients mind: "Does God want more than just for me to be healthy? Does he want me? Does he want to be my shepherd? Should I submit to Him, become a sheep and sound like one? Bah! Bah? No way! Never! I'm a man and not a sheep!"
But the sting was sitting deep in his heart. The Word kept on speaking to him, ever more plainly and clearly. The patient started to think like a merchant usually does: "What would be my benefit if the Lord were my shepherd? That would mean: He will plan for me; He will guide me and I will have to follow him. But it also means: He will provide for me; He will always be there for me; I would never again be alone, He would take responsibility for my life, and I would be of eternal value!"
The sister but smiled when she entered the room. She remained silent, served and prayed. The Lord spoke to the sick rebel in his bed, until he realized: "If the Lord really is my shepherd, then it would no longer be important whether I were sick or healthy, rich or poor, for then He would belong to me and I would belong to him! He would be my life even in death."
So came about his surrender to the eternal Lord and faithful submission to the good Shepherd: "God, you are the good Shepherd for everyone, forgive me for my wrong-doing. Be the One who leads my life; do not leave me. Be my Shepherd in time and eternity. And if I want to run away, draw me back, that I may remain with You and be a part of Your flock forever. Amen."