Scripture: Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the one… who meditates on his law day and night.”

In his final year of life, my father suffered from hallucinations—he called them “vivid dreams”—a symptom of Parkinson’s disease. He lived in a confusing twilight of drowsy wakefulness and dream sleep. 

Once in the middle of the night, he called me. He said he was in a strange place that seemed real to him. It was a vivid dream, yet he was awake. In a crackly voice, he asked, “Ken, are you real?” It was heartbreaking, but I managed to reply, “Yes, Dad, I’m here with you now. For real.”

Often, we find ourselves in a strange place, wondering if God is real, desperately needing His presence. In such times we turn to the comfort of Psalm 23 and its message: God is with us. For real. He walks with us through “green meadows” and “peaceful streams” (v. 2) and through our “darkest valley” (v. 4). 

It’s an extraordinary picture of the intimate presence of God, culminating in the whispered promise, “You are close beside me” (v. 4). This promise finds its fulfillment in Jesus, who came to live among us.

At the end, my dad was in an unconscious dream state in hospice. But when I started singing a hymn he loved, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” Dad slowly turned in his bed, looked up to heaven, and started singing with me: “I sing because I’m happy . . . He watches over me.” 

I couldn’t break through Dad’s mental fog. But God could. God was present with my father. And He’s present with you. Right now. In this moment. For real. — Ken Petersen

Oh, did you know?

Psalm 23 is a popular Bible chapter. It is the song of the poet, King David, characterising himself as a sheep under the watchful, loving eye of his divine shepherd who is with him in all circumstances. The final stanza of sharing a meal at the Lord’s table is a portrait of lasting kindness and intimacy; an image of how we can have a deeply personal relationship with Jesus, our Good Shepherd.