A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
for his name's sake.4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.5 You prepare a table before me
Psalm 23:1-6
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
forever.
As children, we tend to believe in promises more easily, and it's easier for us to have faith that God will answer our prayers. I remember when I was young, I would write all my prayers in my journal and wait patiently for Jesus to answer them, no matter how small or unimportant they seemed. When he did answer, I would quickly put a check mark. I was always confident in someone's promise, and I trusted God's promises in my life just as much.
While growing up, keeping an oath can be difficult, and sometimes, praying becomes our last resort. This is possibly because of the harsh realities of life, which make us think that we can control our lives on our own and don't need to rely on anyone, not even God. We may find it futile to believe in promises. However, when life becomes tough, we all need reassurance to keep going. We need an unfailing promise to persevere, and we need an unfailing Person to lead the way, who knows the way. This Person is our Shepherd, and His assurance is in Psalm 23: "Because of Jehovah-Roi, I have all I need."
This word speak to me intimately, The Lord is my Shepherd. Psalm 23 is so universal because it was so individual. There are twenty-eight personal pronouns in these six verses— it's like He and me. If we will look entirely in the Bible, from the Old testament until the New Testament, shepherding affection is seen everywhere in Scripture, and it’s the greatest single emphasis the Bible offers on this subject.
In John 10: 11- 15, Jesus said; I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
The Bible always compare us to a sheep and have you ever realized that sheep is like one of the gullible animal? I just read this:
"A snake, dog, lion, they all have a defense mechanism, but sheep are the only animals on Earth that can’t defend themselves, they are totally vulnerable, they are at the end of the food chain. They can’t defend themselves, because they don’t possess any fighting skills."
"A sheep is the one animal that is utterly clueless and helpless without a human being nearby. A flock of sheep without a shepherd is a pathetic sight. You never hear of sheep migrating along in great flocks, fending for themselves, or surviving without external protection. They panic at the slightest sound. They have no sense of direction, little native intelligence, and no way to defend themselves. They can butt a little with their heads, but they’re bulky, bungling, and without defensive equipment. They can’t fight with their hooves or teeth. They can’t run away very easily, or dig holes or climb trees. They can’t track down their own food. They can get lost even in their own pasture. Their wool, which becomes thick, matted, and tangled if not regularly sheared, can weigh them down or trap them in thorns. Insects be- devil them, and they don’t recover well from disease and injury unless treated individually. Sheep also need affection, and there’s something about them that seems to crave human care. They are utterly dependent on a shepherd."
The Lord is my Shepherd, Robert J. Morgan
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want— this is so sweet, a kind of reassurance that I have all that I need because He is my shepherd. What else can I desire more? If He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32.
Psalm 34:9–10 (NIV) says, “Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”
If we want something else more than His presence, we'll be lost in the maze like a lost sheep even if he is in the pasture. Now, I just realized why I felt so lost before it was because I was not leaning more into His presence, following His voice one day at a time. I was so distracted by the things I thought I needed more. The Lord is my shepherd—requires obedience to follow his presence one day at a time and to enjoy the company of the other sheep.
At times we want to hurry because we thought we knew already the way, we want to run away from His presence to experience different adventures but running away from His presence is choosing wasteland over greener pastures, desiring tidal waves over still waters, experiencing the destruction of the soul more than the restoration of the soul, and choosing wickedness over righteousness.
We won't experience the following verses if the Lord is not our shepherd.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
Psalm 23:2-3
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
for his name's sake.
The following is a text about the constant love and care of God. It speaks of His ability to provide peace, restoration, and righteousness for His name's sake. These are not promises for the future, but rather they are written in present tense, as God is constantly making, leading, and restoring.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c]
Psalm 23: 4
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
I remember this when I was writing Back Home, "When I had nowhere else to turn, He was the only place I could come home to. When I had no shoulders to lean on, His arms were so wide and His embrace was so warm. He held me close to His heart and never left me, carrying me through my struggles and turning my mourning into dancing. He promised, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you, my child." Even when we lose our way and feel lost, like a good shepherd, He will always find us and lead us back to His heart. And even when we run away and hide from Him, He will still find ways to reach us and bring us close to His loving embrace. Though there may be consequences for our actions, His love for us remains constant."
He can leave the ninety-nine for one sheep. (Mat. 18:12-14)
Like a good shepherd, He firmly holds his rod and staff not to torture us but to give us comfort. The other terms for comfort is so beautiful, to give us relief not distress, solace not torment, and reassurance not anguish whenever we choose to trust the Lord as our shepherd.
5 You prepare a table before me
Psalm 23: 5-6
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
forever.
A table in the presence of our enemies, anointing and the richness of His favor and blessings overflow. And a promise that He will be with us until eternity.
Sometimes, I fail to trust his word, especially when I think about the future, face unexpected problems, see my fears come to the doorstep, or when my dreams seem too far to achieve and when I see my loved ones suffer. But his word is reassuring. The Lord is my shepherd; He is my Savior, my Lord, my King, my Lover, my Provider, my Pursuer, my Protector, my Hope, and my Always.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:32–33
