Psalm 23-11/2/14-Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us
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This is a familiar Psalm for many of us, and several of us may have this beloved Scripture memorized by now. Yet, sometimes it takes looking at a well-known Scripture with fresh eyes and an open mind to discover God’s deep caring for our souls.
What is a shepherd? What is the role? A shepherd, like a pet-owner, many different roles to the animal. Protector, Master, Provider, Lover, Caretaker, Delighter. And Our Lord is all of these.
The beautiful relationships given to us repeatedly in Scripture between God and man can be put another way: those of a father to his children.
This intimate relationship started in the mind of God, was made possible by the work of Christ, and are confirmed and made real to us by the Holy Spirit.
So when the simple statement is made, “The Lord is my Shepherd” it immediately implies a profound relationship between a human being and his/her Maker. It links a lump of common clay to divine destiny. It means a mere mortal becomes the cherished object of God.
God invites us to make Him the Shepherd, the Ruler, the Caregiver of our lives, and in return, He promises to take the best of care of us.
We all face struggle, and life gets hard, but with God, what do we really lack in this world? We human beings want purpose. With God we have it. We seek community and fellowship. With God we have it. We search for truth to live by, With God we have it. We desire unconditional eternal love. With God, we have it.
Verse 2 says that, He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Sheep don’t sit still very often. And is this not the same for us? If we are restless, discontented, always agitated, disturbed, we do not do very well.
How can we be free of such anxiety, such restlessness? It is to walk and live with a daily reminder that God is ever-present in our lives.
Sheep are often quieted when the know their Shepherd is in their midst, and when we live, knowing that our Shepherd is in our lives, we too can rest in peace, green pastures, quiet waters, having our souls refreshed, and be guided by His loving hand that promises care.
Verses 2 and 3 use very powerful and descriptive verbs. God makes, leads, restores, and guides. These are four characteristics of the Lord as Shepherd. He makes all things new and full of life where there once was no life.
He leads us through the dark times in our lives so we don’t stumble. He restores our hope and our broken hearts. And He guides us into peace and joy. And the last part of verse 3 says why God does this…and the answer is quite simple
Because He is good. Our God is good, we can rest in our struggles in life knowing that much.
This Psalm hits its zenith in verse 4 when it says that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and why? Because only One can walk with us through death’s dark valley and bring us safely to the other side. Yes, Life is uncertain, yet, brothers and sisters why do we need to fear? Why not instead follow the Shepherd who leads us to eternal comfort?
Our Lord Jesus is a protector and a comforter. A shepherd loves the sheep and proves this love by protecting the sheep with a rod. And a staff was used to lead.
So to protect and to lead.
To defend and bring along.
God does both.
He is the Master in Charge. We can say hearty amen to that! The Lord serves as a gracious host. We put our trust in God, we become Christians, and not only does this Mighty Shepherd give us all we will ever need, allows us to rest, restores us, bestows upon us new and eternal life, lead us through the darkness but also this Loving Shepherd actually invites us to a banquet!
For David, and for us, God serves as the master of ceremonies. The MC is the one who controls the gathering. It is He who has the final word. And this MC loves us and shields us from our enemies. For David, God is the host and the presence of enemies is no longer a cause for fear.
God does that for us. He restores. He redeems. God takes our broken, battered, and bruised lives and fixes and restores and makes new. David said that “goodness and mercy follows him. This idea of following does not simply mean, keeping a safe distance. NO! Here, following has the idea of running/chasing/overtaking. So those of us who follow the great Shepherd Jesus are overtaken by goodness and mercy, we cannot escape it even if we try! The goodness and mercy are that persistent!
We as humans were created to be in relationship with God. “We were created for you Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you”. When we put our trust in God, no struggle, no hurt, not even death can stop Him from bringing us into his house.
It is in this house, that we find safety, and where we will dwell and worship God forever. This is the most beautiful picture of heaven God writes a happy ending, where there is no more pain, no hurt, no trouble, just peace.
Christ has overcome the world. We too when we follow Him, are over-comers. Let that be your source of joy and hope my friends. Amen
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