THE LORD IS THE SHEPHERD OF HIS SHEEP!

There is no lack of supply.

Our God, our shepherd, will supply our every need.

Why are we often unhappy and fearful?

We tend to quickly forget our inability to take care of ourselves.

We were lost, without direction and hope, and we were found by the Good Shepherd!

PSALM 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

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

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 in the house of the Lord

forever.

This is, without doubt, the most known, most loved psalm in the Bible. It has been the comfort of those who know God; it has been used to encourage the sick and the dying. It has been clung to by those going through difficulties as they dealt with their foes; it has brought great encouragement to all who have read it.

As we start our meditation about this psalm, I want you to notice that the psalm is describing the journey of a life lived under the protection of the omnipotent God.

The first verse begins with a tender image: a shepherd and his sheep. This is not a general relationship, but it speaks clearly of the relationship of one sheep with his shepherd.

The LORD is the shepherd. The self-existing God, creator of all, and sustainer of the universe, is the shepherd. The very fact that the psalmist speaks of “my” shepherd requires our reflection about who can claim to belong to God.

The Bible is clear that not all enjoy this relationship with the Shepherd. When God inspired David to write this psalm, He did not write, ‘The LORD is the shepherd of the world”. When Jesus looked at the crowds, He saw the people as ‘sheep without a shepherd’.

Matthew 9:35-38

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” 

These verses not only show us that sheep need to become God’s sheep, but also their immense need for a shepherd.

People, without the LORD as their shepherd, are helpless and harassed. When we look at actual sheep, we can tell that sheep need a shepherd, since they are not capable of taking care of themselves or protecting themselves.

Isaiah reminds us of our state as sheep:

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

As hapless sheep, not only are we incapable of taking care of ourselves, but we also have rebelliously presumed that we could manage by following our own thoughts and goals. Because of this rebellion, Jesus had to die so that we could come to the true and good Shepherd.

John 14:5-6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

John 10:11

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

We needed a shepherd who would give His life for the sheep, and then we needed to understand, by God’s grace, that there was no access to the LORD apart from faith in the saving work of Christ. There are no alternative ways of becoming His sheep.

Why should we take the time to reflect on these truths? Because just being able to affirm that the LORD is our shepherd should produce many reactions in us:

Remembering our state before we met the Shepherd should produce immense gratitude. Realizing the grace-driven relationship this implies should produce grateful dependence and submission.

The verse ends with the words, ‘I shall not want’. God has promised to take care of His own and this promise is a certainty, but we must see His care without greedy expectations.

Philippians 4:19

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 

There is no lack of supply. Our God, our shepherd, will supply our every need. Why are we often unhappy and fearful? We tend to quickly forget our inability to take care of ourselves.  We were lost, without direction and hope, and we were found by the Good Shepherd!

I do not possess the LORD, I am His possession. Too often, in our prayers and expectations, we tend to reverse the roles. All of a sudden, we forget Who is wise, Who is perfect, Who is powerful, Who knows the future, Who knows our real needs, and we come to wrong conclusions about what is good for us.

Being a sheep of the Shepherd requires submission. This should not be hard, if we don’t gloss over the first statement in this verse and then read “I shall not want’ without understanding that David was speaking of his needs, not his ‘wants’.

As we look around at all the lost sheep, we need to invite others to know our Shepherd. Our lives must reflect our humble and grateful dependence on Him. As we continue to reflect on this psalm, it will become clear to us that it’s not only a good choice to have the LORD as one’s Good Shepherd, but it’s the only wise choice!