The Lord is My Shepherd - Part 1

In my time with the Lord this morning, I began reading Psalm 23. I've done an indepth study on Psalm 23 for the Online Bible College in a lesson called "The Voice of the Shepherd", which you can download here. But I'll share with you what meant the most in this psalm for me today.

Psalm 23:1, as rendered by the New Living Translation, says:

"The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need."

This is not just the first verse of Psalm 23. It is also the defining verse of Psalm 23. My relationship with the Lord is defined as like that between a shepherd and his sheep. That relationship involves provision - "I have everything I need."

So often I approach my relationship with the Lord in terms of my needs. My prayer is: "Lord, I need this" or "Lord, I need that." But the shepherd-sheep relationship implies that all needs are already met by the shepherd. As 2 Peter 1:3 says:

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

God has provided "everything we need for life and godliness". In other words, everything I need to live a godly life today has already been provided to me by the Lord.

Ephesians 1:3 also speaks in a similar way:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

I'm not waiting to be blessed "with every spiritual blessing in Christ." This is an experience I've already stepped into and simply need to appropriate for today. This, I believe, is what Psalm 23:1 means when it says: "I have everything I need."

The next few verses go on to explain how I experience "everything I need" on a daily basis. Psalm 23:2-3a says:

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul..."

The shepherd knows exactly what the sheep needs. He leads the sheep to green pastures and quiet waters, which deal with two of the most basic needs of the sheep - nutrition and healing.

Psalm 23:3 then goes on to say:

"...He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

I remember when I first fully appreciated this verse. I was on a sheep farm, walking through one of the paddocks, and noticed all the sheep trails, leading from one pasture to the next. These are the "paths of righteousness" which David is speaking of. And there are "paths of righteousness" for me too, leading from one green pasture to the next.

But then Psalm 23:4 changes the tone of the psalm. Up till now, everything has been comfortable. But verse 4 now says:

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.

For a long time, I thought this referred to sheep that had gone astray, as described in Isaiah 53:6, Psalm 119:176 and Matthew 18:12-14. But it was only recently that I realised that this is not what is being described in Psalm 23:4. The sheep haven't wandered off on their own, because the shepherd is there with them! In fact, at the end of verse 4, David says that while in this "valley of the shadow of death" he will not fear any evil because "you are with me."

I then realised that verse 3 and verse 4 go together. Psalm 23:3 tells us that the Shepherd "guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." But those paths of righteous will, at times, lead through a "valley of the shadow of death." The picture is, in fact, one of a shepherd leading his sheep from one green pasture to the next, but between these green pastures there is a dark ravine. As the sheep follow the shepherd along the track, they hear a lion's roar on the left, and a wolf's howl on the right, and they start to get skittish and fearful. But the shepherd is there with them - his rod (the emblem of discipline) and staff (the emblem of guidance) are there to keep the sheep on the "path of righteousness."

This is my experience right now. I've been in a green pasture, but the Lord has decided to lead me into a new green pasture. But between the two, I am experiencing a dark valley where fear and doubt threaten to pull me off track. But I have nothing to fear, because the Lord is with me. His rod and staff are there to gently nudge me back onto the "path of righteousness" that he has set before me - a "path of righteousness" right in the middle of "the valley of the shadow of death"!

In the OBC lesson I wrote, "The Voice of the Shepherd", I explain that there are three alternating phases in the Christian life. I'd like to quote from that part of the lesson here:

Three images rise clearly out of this psalm:

• Green pastures – The Lord will guide you to lush pastures and feeding places. These are places of growth.

• Still waters – The Lord will also guide you beside cool streams. These are places of rest and refreshing, of healing and restoration.

• Dark valleys – The Lord will at times even guide you through dark valleys. These are places where you need to rely on and trust in the shepherd.

These three images represent distinct periods in the life of every Christian:

• Times of growth
• Times of rest
• Times of reliance

We need to recognise which time and season we are in with the Lord. Quoting again from the OBC lesson:

"Why is the Lord with you in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death? Because he has led you there. He has not, however, led you there to stay there. He does not tell you to lie down in the dark valleys. No, he is leading you through the dark valley because he is taking you to a green pasture on the other side. This is the nature of the shepherd’s guidance. As you get to know the voice of the shepherd, you will discover that there is always the comfort of his presence there, regardless of where he may be leading you."

I was preaching on this subject at Evangelical Community Church just a couple of months ago, and I brought the challenge that as "sheep" there are only three possible states that you can be in:

1. You have wandered off the path of righteousness - This is the state of being a "lost sheep" (Isaiah 53:6, Psalm 119:176; Matthew 18:12-14) and the action you need to take is: Repent! (Isaiah 55:6-7).

2. You are in green pastures and beside still waters - This is the state described in Psalm 23:2-3. During this time, sheep can easily be overfed and even "overturned" by their own weight, and so when you are in this season, the action you need to take is: Exercise! (1 Corinthians 9:25; Hebrews 5:14; 1 Timothy 4:8).

3. You are currently walking through the valley of the shadow of death - This is the state described in Psalm 23:4, and when you are in this season, the action you need to take is: Follow! (John 10:27; Isaiah 30:21).

As I was reading Psalm 23, I began singing an old favourite song of mine. In the words of this song is the expectation I have that, even though I presently walking through "the valley of the shadow of death", the Lord is with me and he will guide me through to the other side.

The words of this beautiful song are:

Shepherd of my soul, I give you full control
Wherever you may lead I will follow
I have made the choice to listen for your voice
Wherever you may lead I will go
Be it in a quiet pasture or by a gentle stream
The Shepherd of my soul is by my side
Though I face a mighty mountain or a valley dark and deep
The Shepherd of my soul will be my guide

Click here to listen to my rendition of this song.

For the next instalment, read "The Lord is My Shepherd - Part 2"