
Psalm 23
A psalm that has been sung in countless songs, written within poems and recited through school halls, at funerals, through wars and times of extreme persecutions by Christians all over the world throughout centuries.
‘The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 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.’
The Song ‘My Shepherd was inspired by this scripture’ we wanted to encourage people to blindly follow the Good Shepherd even when they don’t understand everything they are going through.
Perhaps in a turmoil situation one could feel lost at times. Conceivably directionless or abandoned, having drifted off from God or His Word. Well, the Good Shepherd loves you too much to leave you feeling or being lost or alone.
An instance where we see sheep spoken about in scripture is in The Parable of the Lost Sheep.
Seen in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, this is about a shepherd who leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep to find the one which is lost. That is how valuable the sheep is to the shepherd and that is a picture God shows us of how valuable we are to Him. If we end up lost, He searches us out, concerned, worried that on our own somewhere, we may be a vulnerable target for the wolves or the enemy, if we have somehow ‘fallen over onto our backs’ like a sheep can, making him vulnerable to predators, the Shepherd will need to help the sheep back onto his feet again. The Shepherd doesn’t slumber and consider how many sheep He has remaining, forgetting his one lost sheep. No! He goes out to fetch his lost sheep and bring him back home.
God has made us to rely on Him. We rely on him for protection, provision, restoration of our souls and guidance in righteous paths. We see in Psalm 23 that His rod and staff are our comfort or ‘strength’. By His staff He leads us, His sheep. By His staff He defends us against attacks. When the Shepherd is near, sheep do not need to be afraid. Neither do we, God’s children. need to fear when God is near. Draw near to Him through the valley and in the meadow, praise Him!
The Shepherd knows that there are easy and difficult weather conditions to endure along the journey. God will lead His sheep in and through a foggy place, sometimes because it is only in a foggy place that you will learn to trust and lean on His voice. God will take a misty situation to grow you and grow closer to you.
The Shepherd’s Voice
We know that we will face so many ‘fall-on-your-back’ kind of challenges, we will go through the valley and it will be dark. We will need a Shepherd to follow and listen to, to get us through safely.
The Word says, the sheep know the voice of the Shepherd. And they won’t follow the voice of another. Do you know the voice of the Shepherd? Do you hear Him and follow Him when He speaks and calls for you? Are you a part of the flock where He wants to keep you safe? God will always want to lead us to a safe place. In Him and by His voice we are lead to safety.
Let’s not be afraid to let God be our Shepherd, let us not withdraw from Him, run off and hide in the valley, let us not isolate to the point where we can’t hear Him anymore. Let Him be your Good Shepherd, when troubles come, when evil attacks come across our path.
‘You restoreth my soul’
The Shepherd is there to restore you when the world has taken things from you. When a sheep is injured, the Shepherd takes care of him. Nursing him back to health, giving special attention, making sure the sheep gets well again.
‘No matter what the season, You are guiding my steps’.
No matter what you face today, call upon the Good Shepherd to guide you, protect you, provide for you and restore your life. He is good and He wants to be there for you personally.
He is with you!