~The
Lord is my Shepherd Psalms 23 ~
A shepherd herds his
sheep in safety. A shepherd is concerned
for the welfare of each and every one of his sheep…he provides for all their needs
and cares deeply for their welfare! Yes
what they eat, the water they drink, where they should sleep so they are
protected from any outside harm which could be thieves, snakes, cougars, lions,
and bears.
I would like to share
with you how these verses have motivated and encouraged me thus-far in my life…May
I?
When I was a little
kid my parents brought us to church – they went into the ‘big’ church and we
kids went to Sunday school, which was way more fun! We would learn scripture verses and we would
receive a sticker or a treat for it! At
that time you just did it…but never did I think that it would bring such
comfort to me later in life! God would
use these memorized verses to draw me to Him as I grew into adulthood.
And so it is with the
verses in Psalm 23…yes these scriptures too, have given me continued help &
direction…even when I was still walking in my ‘wild oats’ days searching &
seeking some sort of significance of what this life was all about!
Psalms 23 has always
held a very special place in my life…and so often – I have been brought back to
these words again and again…sometimes as a whole…and sometimes just parts of
it…whatever life brings – I have the comfort and reminder of these words! I would like to share with you my personal
insight to these words!
So let us begin by
reading it first OK?
(Oh by the way…I have learned these verses
in the King James version…when I was a kid in Sunday School. That was then and
it stuck with me even now! But please do
find that special version of the Bible that you enjoy more and you are
comfortable with – this is really important for each one of us as we journey in the study of the Bible – surely
you will find one that really speaks to you!)
“The Lord is
my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He
leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy
staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
So there you have it Psalms 23!
I think most of us have heard it at funerals…right? It often gets quoted there. Probably because of the verse that speaks
about death…and the comfort of leaving this world and entering into another
place…that is…our soul.
I would like to break down each part of these verses…
“The Lord is My Shepherd”
Let’s start here: God truly
wants to protect us...He wants to shepherd our lives and be our Guide. But first, before He can – He has to become
your “Lord” He cannot be your Lord until He first is your Savior! Each of us have a “free will” which we were
born with. This “free will” was given to
us by God…a will to “will or want Him in our life…..or not”...it’s that simple
really! Our nature says ‘I can handle this or that on my own, we have
done it on our own all along…certainly whatever we’re dealing with…we can
handle this too’ right?
We make our own choices & seek our own direction. Yet at times we don’t always do such a good
job of it! We try and sometimes things go
quite well and we think “see I can do this and look what I have
accomplished!” Being successful in
choices of education, job career, and even pride ourselves in relationships of
people ‘who we know.’ And then at other
times in our lives, everything seems to be going wrong…and “life happens”
right? Life can take us off
course and before you know it we are on some kind of detour! Sometimes for a short while and then other
times it might be years!
From the moment we are born…God is continually knocking at ‘the
door of our hearts’…calling us into a relationship with Him. He might bring people into our pathway and he/she
might give us a word of advice or a sense of direction – something happens that
might bring our minds to remember or think of God. We have the choice to be open to Him…to find
we are needy and call out to Him. Being
open to His nudge or prompt. He,
from our very beginning is continually drawing us to Him. One might take years to respond…and others
may hear early in life this nudging, prompting or call, yet again, others who are in a hard-place in their lives, can’t
always hear or feel His prompting because the circumstances they are dealing
with are so’ overwhelming at that moment of time.
Whatever stage of life we are in, God so desires a relationship
with you His creation! He loves you and
reaches out and when we are at the “end of ourselves” we are open & sense
His drawing close! But each and every
one of us, personally, must call out to Him…to ask, to invite the Savior into
our hearts and lives, to cry out for help in time of need and at that very
moment God will reveal Himself – come into us and become our
Savior. Yes He came to save us from
ourselves. We are needy beings and need
a Shepherd to guide us.
“I Shall not want”
When we have opened our hearts and invited the Savior into our
hearts…something happens! With your
invitation or “will” to want to have a relationship with the Savior Jesus
Christ, the Holy Spirit has been allowed to come into you…which is an awesome
realization! Yes the Spirit of God comes
to live within you! There begins a
wonderful happening now…first you become aware of a realm inside, you have not
yet experienced in all the days of living…now you have your spirit opened and
your eyes are opened and you have a dimension added to you and an awareness of
it! There was always a “wanting” in you – ‘you didn’t have enough’
or ‘it was always greener on the other side’ or there was a discontentment in
our everyday living…BUT….all at once there is a deeper sense – something has
changed…yes…something has been added in you that is a new thing! The Spirit of God begins to fulfill that
“wanting” in you…not by physical or natural things but by an inner “fulfilled”
wanting! This is when it begins to get
exciting…this Savior now becomes little by little the Lord in your life! He desires to guide and direct you in the
way! Filling “that wanting” need in you…truly! Yes “that wanting” begins to subside and we
begin to rest from within!
“He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures”
The Shepherd, the Lord…desires safe travels for us in this ‘life-walk’
we are on. He wants to bring you into
‘green pastures’…even though many things happen in life, our Shepherd and now
Lord…will guide us along day by day…bringing us into safety where needs are
met: our physical and spiritual needs – yes He takes care of us and these
“green” pastures are supplied with what
we need. The sheep need to eat healthy grass so their
wool coats grow healthy, and the intake keeps their digestion balanced so their
stomach can digest well. God too chooses
to keep us under His covering & care…leading us through the pasture of life
we are living…wherever that may be! In a
green pasture setting you can lie down…and rest…yes the environment and
surroundings are safe & secure – He is guarding and guiding you now…and you
can lie down knowing the Shepherd is in control keeping watch and securing the
pasture…and truly within your spirit you will feel & KNOW that in a
spiritual way.
“He Leadeth me beside still
waters”
Did you know that a sheep will not drink water when the
water is moving? The sheep will only
drink water that is still. Somehow this
has been instilled in a sheep. He/she
feels only safe when the water is quiet.
Then she will bend down to drink.
The Shepherd leads the sheep to a drinking place and always looking out
for dangers, water that might be tainted & harm the sheep & their
lambs. Any ripple or movement might be
another animal close by that could harm them.
When a sheep bends down to drink, he is in a vulnerable position &
place – so she needs to feel assured to drink.
“Life” has many ripples of water in it…but the Lord, under His covering
and protection keeps you from the ripples of life when you walk with Him
closely & daily. In life “things
happen” but the waters around us can not harm us for we are securely safe in
his pasture. On the outside “things
happen” but from within we have the safety of the Shepherd keeping and leading
us in stillness of our spirit. The Holy Spirit, our companion gives this inner
stillness & peacefulness even though the waters of life tries to distract
us!
“He Restoreth my Soul”
Every day – every moment of the day…the Lord is restoring us…yes
continually! His words that we read in
His book the Bible – brings refreshing and encouragement to us. His Spirit within us daily points us always
to God the Father...our Creator. He
knows so well what we need intimately.
As we come to Him in our day and walk out the day with thoughts of Him,
inviting Him to be a part of our day, He strengthens and encourages us & helps
us to deal with what is at hand! He is
ever present and continues to restore us in our momentarily needs…every moment
yes!
He will give you a heart that is thankful for the very little
things in life…restoring you with a heart of appreciation! Daily He shows you His love for you in the world
around us: pretty flowers – the clouds that format in the sky, a smile from a
stranger, a little child grinning from check to check for the ice cream she is
enjoying, holding a door open for someone and the thankful response & smile
they give you! Yes – waking up in the
morning! A new day has come…another day
& you even have breathe to breath!
Beginning to appreciate the little things of life comes from within and makes
us realize He is restoring & refreshing us daily with His care and
keeping!
God is also restoring us daily from our past failures &
hurts. Yes all is forgiven…your slate is
clean before Him, but we might still have some ‘open wounds.’ Sad & emotional memories that we might
have, still brings tears of pain & shutters of deep rooted suffering? Yes God wants to help us and wants to remove
that ‘open wound’ and bring healing to that event or happening in your and my
life…He wants to bring healing to these open wounded memories and bring restoration! Letting go of the sad experience so that the
memory “or open wound of it” can become “a scare” that can begin to heal. Yes the memory might be remembered but will
fade–but the emotional trauma is gone…He is restoring you! It is now a scare, a closed wound that is
healing! Oh the Lord wants to heal you
and restore you daily! His desire is to
have you live “today” in your
fullest potential! Little by Little the
Shepherd will…tenderly, carefully, with much gentleness help you even in this
area! Let Him have your pain…He will
gladly restore you! He promises!
“He leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for His name's sake”
This new path or walk we are now on “since we have invited our
Savior into our hearts” has one purpose…to bring & lead us daily into God’s
right path! Yes…because God is a holy
God…and He has called you and drawn you to Him – His only plan in your life is
to make you holy as well! Because His
name alone is holy! He is perfect and
holy and with you now in His care…well…it is His desire to rub off on you…His creation and let you walk in the fullness of
right living! Wow…is that not ever
awesome and wonderful? Don’t you wish to
be a better person? A kinder and more
patient person? A person that comes
along side someone or helps others in need?
To be generous and giving, to be helpful & be caring & supportive
with others when they are going through a tough time? To be available to speak a word of
encouragement and give wisdom to someone in need? To have ‘ears’ to listen well? Yes all this and…to be filled with His
Joy! Yes there is happiness in the
world we live in but happiness is temporary.
It comes and goes. But Joy is a gift from God – this Joy is an
eternal Joy…the realization that you are a new person with a new dimension in
you and that the Spirit of God has come to live within you and the Joy that is
there is an a overwhelming and incredible realization that is hard to explain
in words…but His Spirit is there living daily in you “and the Joy of the Lord
is our strength”
God will show us daily and guide us daily and restore and help us
to walk paths of right living…daily He will! Is He able? Yes He is and gladly does so! Daily He is leading you into a righteous way
of living…with Joy because He is righteous & holy, He desires to restore
you and me, and what He began, He desires to finish in us!
“Yea Though I walk in the
valley of the shadow of death”
Every day of our lives we are walking in this valley of
death. From the moment we were born…we
are dying. Because of the fallen world
we live in…sickness, accidents, disease, it is all around us…a dying
world. The flowers grow, & die and the
seeds fall, we grow older and our loved ones grow older, we are all in the
midst of the storms of life, the year comes & years pass by, loved ones
pass on, – the shadow of death is always near us and around us – it is very
much a part of our daily living. If we
just turn on the TV or look at our smart phone – the reminder is there…the frailty
of life and the fallen & broken world we live in! Yes from that moment of our first perception &
awareness of life –till we take our last breath…we have this shadow of death
around us and we are living it!
“I will fear no evil”
God does not want us to be fearful….about anything. With God at the throne of our hearts, we need
not fear! The Lord our Shepherd has gone
before us and prepared the way – the safe way.
He has given us the green pasture of safety and filled us with His
presence! There is nothing to fear! Yes
we might walk on unfamiliar paths…things that come our way that seem uncertain
because it is an experience or event we have not yet trodden or walked
before…and when we realize that things
that are not familiar can be a bit scary….still our Shepherd has gone
before us, and He will help us to continue this path with assurance that He
will and is protecting us even in the unfamiliar! There is no fear from the evil one because we
have the covering and the presence of our Holy Spirit within us guiding us and
keeping us from evil!
“For Thou art with me”
The Lord is ever with me – He has saved me and is now my
Savior. He has come to shepherd me to
safe places. He is ever continually with
me to protect me and keep me in whatever circumstance I am in. Because I am in relationship with Him – He is
ever present with me! In everything I
do, He is there with me! His still
gentle voice is speaking through the Holy Spirit and guiding me. Faithfully & patiently ever with me…..in
my sleep and in my daily life. Ever
present! Because He is now Lord of my
life…He is ever present and the Bible says He neither sleeps or slumbers – and
He holds me in the palm of His hand, and it also says He knows every count of
hair on my head – oh my and I do see the hairs in the bathroom sink and even on
the floor at the beauty shop! Yet He
keeps track – now that is pretty intimate don’t you think?
“Thy Rod & Thy Staff
they comfort me”
A shepherd has a rod with him – this rod is used in many
ways. To steer along a lamb, keeping him
with the rest of the flock. The rod was
mostly used for leading and correction.
The rod would be held low and one by one the sheep would pass under the
rod so the shepherd could count his sheep at the end of the day. Yet at times the rod was also used to correct
a stubborn sheep! This short stick would
keep that stubborn sheep away from danger…even though he might not like it…it
was needed to keep him from danger! It
seems sheep like to wander away because she sees the greener grass on the
other side of the fence or pasture. Thus,
the shepherd uses the rod to steer the sheep away from danger.
The staff was longer and
had a curve at the end. The staff was
often used to grab a sheep by the neck if he had fallen in a hole or a
ditch. So the shepherd could reach far
with this long staff and bring him into safety again! When a young lamb strayed…the shepherd would
be careful, not to touch the lamb but guide it with the staff back to the ewe
so not to put any odor on the little lamb so the ewe would reject her
lamb. Also the staff was lovingly used
to guide along a sheep or sheep in a particular direction: a gate or entrance
into a corral…steering the side of the sheep toward the entrance. The staff is as our Holy Spirit guiding us
daily in every step we take…lovingly, gently, carefully, always with a loving
concern for our welfare and needs. Our
ever present Holy Spirit points us always to our Father in Heaven…through our
Savior Jesus Christ, guiding & comforting us…tenderly, moment by moment, so
we will always feel His presence near.
Both the Rod & Staff is needed in our lives! We need our Shepherd to guide us, protect us,
& correct us as He leads us through this fallen world we live in! Yes as a loving Father we need His care &
nurturing ways!
“Thou preparest a table
before me in the presence of my enemies”
Even though sheep are protected and keenly kept safe by their
shepherd – this “table” or plateau up into the higher regions on the
mountainsides, where the grass is fresh & green, could be a dangerous trail
to get to. The shepherd and sheep might have to climb along narrow rugged trails
to get to this plateau of lush grass to graze on! When on these narrow graveled paths along the
mountain corridors…the sheep have to listen well to the shepherds call.
So we too, go through these “narrow situations” and feel
vulnerable and sense those enemies that want to harm us! Yet again…God has prepared the way for us,
and even through these tough times, He prepares us for them! He has already given us the inner strength
and preparation to handle it – we are assured of that! He will not fail us or forsake us! He promises!
When we are in a “tight situation” we see the table laid out in front of
us – KNOW that the shepherd of our life is there in that situation and circumstance
too! He will a make way in it and
through it and you will come out on the other side! The enemies of our life might want to hinder
us and try to side track us – but we are safe in the Master’s hand!
“Thou anointest my head
with oil”
Ah….this is the good part!
When a sheep is dealing with an invasion of bugs that have crawled into
his ears or eyes or on their body…lice or ticks can bring much irritation on
them! These insects can harm the sheep
and crawl deep into the ear tunnel and drive a sheep mad! Or irritate the wool with this infestation
annoying them in a terrible way! The shepherd has an ointment that he then
applies on the sheep – to relieve the sheep from the infestation and itch it
might cause! This ointment, is a kind of
oil or tallow that is rubbed on the sheep to anoint them on the head or the whole
body to bring relief & healing, a covering and protection.
We as God’s children have this covering upon us – as God begins to
use us or speaks kindnesses through us - His anointing is there faithfully
& continually. We might not always feel
it – nevertheless the anointing – ointment of the Holy Spirit is ministering in
us and through us – to others! We have
“the Light of Christ” in us and with us.
As followers of Christ we tend to forget at times, especially when we
are busy with the daily struggles and whatever is at hand that we are dealing
with –that His anointing is on us! We
underestimate this all the time. But we
are covered, we are protected and we are safe in this! We just need to become more aware of it in
our daily walk with our Shepherd!
Whatever circumstance you find yourself in – that salve that anointing
is there – it is given to you by the Holy Spirit and His presence that now
lives with you! So let it shine!
“My cup runneth over”
That anointing is ever present on you and in you! So much so, that it runs over onto
others. In your daily walk with your
Shepherd and Lord, His anointing is running over. Yes we do not realize it but that salve is
present and as you walk and talk and live your life daily – where ever you are
today…the salve runs over to others! You
have been called by this Shepherd and He is your Lord and with that there is
this running over of His Spirit that lives within you and it brings Joy &
Love to others – with all you interact with!
That Light & oil radiates through you and in you and out to
others. It is so…we just need to be
aware of it…it is the God of this Universe that now lives in you! Are you aware of it? So shine!
“Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life”
Wow – can you believe these words??? What a promise huh? As we safely walk with our Shepherd, our
Lord, our Jesus daily, we have the assurance in these words that goodness will
follow us and mercy shall follow us and be in us/me, yes all the days of living
here in this life we are in! Yes this
goodness is from God Himself and because He is good, His goodness dwells in us
too! Why? Because this Holy God lives
within us! He is merciful, so that makes
us to give mercy to others! He is with
us, and we, with the Holy Spirit in us will also extend goodness and mercy to
others! Wow again! Yes – we are called and anointed by God our
Shepherd! How grateful we must be to
have received this goodness and mercy first!
Oh how grateful to realize that He extended it to you, to me! It is nothing I did to deserve it! My will had other plans but God in his great
mercy reached down to this wandering sheep and called me aside! Extending His goodness and His grace &
mercy to this needy sheep!
And the glorious promise we have…….
“And I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever”
Yes, we end with this last verse and the promise we have from our
loving Shepherd! We have been accepted
and we have been filled and we are in His pasture and care AND we have this
eternal promise from Him…that we will live forever with Him! Can you believe that? Can you take that in? Forever is such a BIG word…forever
is so hard to even understand in this life and in our finite thinking realm…to
grasp this…for everything in our lives here on earth is so’ temporary!! Everything is short lived! But forever…yes
you have been invited to spend this daily walk with a promise daily….that you
are living life now and will live it with God forever. We have this eternal promise even NOW – right
now, as you live life in the present…you already have this promise of eternal life now! That should give you a “hop and a holler” and
bring great JOY to you! Yes, Eternal life now and forever!
Let’s
walk this secure and safe “calling out” before our God with Joy and security!
He loves
you! If you are reading this know
that you too have this promise from your loving Shepherd!
