Hi friends ,
Today I would like to share some thoughts from a portion of
the Bible that most of us are familiar with. It is from Psalms 23. This portion
was written by David who himself was a shepherd boy in the earlier part of his
life.
Let us go verse by verse;
Vs 1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”
The Shepherd - Our
Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep ( acc
to John 10:11) and we are the sheep ( sheep are not a very intelligent animal as
compared to other animals ) but the Shepherd knows how to take care of the
sheep and to safeguard the sheep from any attack by wild animals like bears or
lions or wolves etc. The Shepherd knows those who are truly His sheep (John
10:27) As long as the sheep listens to the Shepherd's voice, (John 10:14) the
sheep will be safe.
1 Corin 3:19 says that “The wisdom of this world is
foolishness with God and He catches the wise in their own craftiness”
Verse 2 “ He makes me lie down in green pastures .
He leads me beside still waters.”
This speaks of
physical rest to the sheep. We can really trust our Lord Jesus and can rest
assured that He will take care of us even when we sleep as we have a God who
neither slumbers nor sleeps.(Psalms 121:4,5) He stays awake with His eye on us
always. How can we not rest when we have such a Protective Shepherd!
Verse 3 “ He restores my Soul”
This speaks about rest for our mind, will and emotions. It
is only the Lord who can repair the trauma/ damages that come to our soul due
to hurts ,rejection and the such that come to us as a result of living in a
fallen world. So we see that our God can revive us and makes us completely
ready to face the battles of life that come to us everyday. We can experience
this rejuvenation by daily prayer and cleansing by meditating on the Word of
God which is the Voice of our Shepherd Jesus.
Verse 3 b “He
leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake”-
It is the Lord alone
who leads us, His sheep into righteousness by cleansing us from all our sins
and shortcomings with His Holy Blood and by His Name and giving us His Robe of
Righteousness. (Isa 61:10)
Verse 4 “Yea
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death , I will fear no evil ,
for you are with me.”
Many times while grazing , the sheep lose their way and may
get stuck in unfamiliar and dangerous terrain and when the sheep cannot find
its way back, what it does is it starts bleating as loudly as it can knowing
that the Shepherd will hear its voice and come looking for it. In our Christian
life also when we make mistakes or get off track, if we cry out to Him in all
sincerity He will come and save us leaving the other sheep securely. That much
valuable each sheep of His is! It is His promise that “He will never leave us
nor forsake us.”Deu 31:8
Verse 4b “Your Rod & Staff they comfort me.”
The sheep know that the Rod is for scaring away the wild
animals and the curved part of the Staff is used by the Compassionate Shepherd
to gently draw the sheep towards Himself. His nearness comforts the sheep. In
the same way, our Lord gently corrects us and gently leads us in the right
ways. (Heb 12:6, Proverbs 3:12)
Verse 5 “ You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies.”
It is the Lord who prepares a feast which signifies
abundance and fruitfulness in front of all for everyone to see and for His
Glory. “He is our Glory and the Lifter of our heads.” (Psalm 3:3)
Verse 6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life.”
As long as we run after Jesus our Shepherd, we don’t need to
run after blessings. Our Lord will provide it for us forever. Blessings will
chase us down.
Verse 6b “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.”-
We will always dwell with our Shepherd Lord Jesus. Our Lord
has a place prepared for us. In John 14:2,3 we read Jesus telling us that “ I
go to prepare a place for you . And if I go and prepare a place for you ,I will
come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am , there you may be also.”
Hope you enjoy the following songs :
The Lord’s my Shepherd - by Stuart Townend
Stay blessed!
Sparky Laurie