Inside Out: A Word on Psalm 23
Inside Out: Why God Starts With Your Mind Before He Changes Your Life
Psalm 23 has become predictable.
We whisper it at gravesides. We cling to it in emergencies. We treat it like a spiritual blanket pulled out only when life collapses. And while it can carry you when your strength is gone, it was never meant to only be a psalm for endings.
Psalm 23 is a psalm for beginnings.
David didn’t write these words from comfort. He wrote them while running for his life—anointed with oil, yet hunted by a jealous king. And in the middle of fear, confusion, and pressure, David pauses long enough to declare something radical: “The Lord is my Shepherd.”
That wasn’t sentiment.
That was survival faith.
A Renewed Year Without a Renewed Mind
We often celebrate new seasons without changing old thinking. But Scripture is clear: a renewed year without a renewed mind turns into recycled living.
Many of us walk into a new year carrying last season’s disappointments, conclusions, and wounds. And if we’re not careful, the valley starts shaping our theology. Pain begins whispering lies. Fear starts sounding logical. Experience becomes louder than Scripture.
That’s why God doesn’t start by changing your circumstances—He starts by restoring your soul.
Exo-Jesus vs Iso-Jesus
One of the greatest dangers facing the modern church is that we’ve learned how to study Jesus without actually knowing Him.
An Exo-Jesus approach keeps faith grounded, historical, and doctrinal—but if isolated, it can stop short of worship.
An Iso-Jesus approach keeps faith personal and experiential—but without Scripture, it drifts into subjectivity.
Healthy Christianity holds both together.
We don’t just study Jesus.
We don’t just feel Jesus.
We know Him—truthfully and relationally.
The Valley Attacks Your Thinking
David says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
Not if. When.
The valley doesn’t only attack your life—it attacks your mind. That’s why the Shepherd doesn’t just anoint David’s head ceremonially. He addresses what’s happening in David’s head. The anointing breaks mental yokes before it ever produces visible victory.
A Table in the Presence of Enemies
God doesn’t always remove opposition before providing nourishment. Sometimes He prepares a table while enemies remain.
Peace isn’t the absence of conflict—it’s the presence of the Shepherd.
Overflow comes when God expands your thinking so you can hold what you couldn’t before. And overflow is never just for you. It spills into families, cities, and generations.
The Question That Changes Everything
When Saul encounters Jesus, he doesn’t negotiate. He doesn’t bargain. He asks the defining question of discipleship: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
That’s inside-out faith.
And it’s still the invitation today.
We whisper it at gravesides. We cling to it in emergencies. We treat it like a spiritual blanket pulled out only when life collapses. And while it can carry you when your strength is gone, it was never meant to only be a psalm for endings.
Psalm 23 is a psalm for beginnings.
David didn’t write these words from comfort. He wrote them while running for his life—anointed with oil, yet hunted by a jealous king. And in the middle of fear, confusion, and pressure, David pauses long enough to declare something radical: “The Lord is my Shepherd.”
That wasn’t sentiment.
That was survival faith.
A Renewed Year Without a Renewed Mind
We often celebrate new seasons without changing old thinking. But Scripture is clear: a renewed year without a renewed mind turns into recycled living.
Many of us walk into a new year carrying last season’s disappointments, conclusions, and wounds. And if we’re not careful, the valley starts shaping our theology. Pain begins whispering lies. Fear starts sounding logical. Experience becomes louder than Scripture.
That’s why God doesn’t start by changing your circumstances—He starts by restoring your soul.
Exo-Jesus vs Iso-Jesus
One of the greatest dangers facing the modern church is that we’ve learned how to study Jesus without actually knowing Him.
An Exo-Jesus approach keeps faith grounded, historical, and doctrinal—but if isolated, it can stop short of worship.
An Iso-Jesus approach keeps faith personal and experiential—but without Scripture, it drifts into subjectivity.
Healthy Christianity holds both together.
We don’t just study Jesus.
We don’t just feel Jesus.
We know Him—truthfully and relationally.
The Valley Attacks Your Thinking
David says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
Not if. When.
The valley doesn’t only attack your life—it attacks your mind. That’s why the Shepherd doesn’t just anoint David’s head ceremonially. He addresses what’s happening in David’s head. The anointing breaks mental yokes before it ever produces visible victory.
A Table in the Presence of Enemies
God doesn’t always remove opposition before providing nourishment. Sometimes He prepares a table while enemies remain.
Peace isn’t the absence of conflict—it’s the presence of the Shepherd.
Overflow comes when God expands your thinking so you can hold what you couldn’t before. And overflow is never just for you. It spills into families, cities, and generations.
The Question That Changes Everything
When Saul encounters Jesus, he doesn’t negotiate. He doesn’t bargain. He asks the defining question of discipleship: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
That’s inside-out faith.
And it’s still the invitation today.
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