“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul: he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. “
Psalm 23 vs 1-3
When I was first instructed to learn to recite this bible chapter as a little girl, I was eager. Then as a youth, my mother often reminded me that this was a psalm to remember through the journey. I thank God for the memory of his sweet word.
Recently, I became more attentive to every single verse of this psalm and just how powerful it was as a message from our Most High God.
The Lord is my shepherd.”
Aside from the more common definition of a sheep-herder, a shepherd is someone who guides or directs in a particular direction. God is your shepherd. He is the almighty One who guides and directs the footsteps of your life according to His divine purpose for your being. As a shepherd, the Lord knows when you need to eat, drink, sleep, and more importantly, when you need to stop. God knows all that you need friend because He is your shepherd.
I shall not want.”
There is nothing you need or could ever need that your Father in heaven will withhold from you. In other words, friend, if you do not have it, you do not need it. For God is purposeful in granting us the blessings that He alone deems fit. This is why we must lift our worries about tomorrow to God and trust in His word that promises us that we shall not want for anything.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures…”
When green pastures come to mind, it is easy to consider the tranquility of an environment that feeds you both literally and figuratively. This place, this state, is where the Lord your God makes you to lie down. Not to stand anxiously, or bend without grace in one same spot, nor is it in chaos, agony, or deception, but in green pastures where the grass is full, is where God lies you down.
He leads me beside still waters.”
Still waters connote even more the idea of God’s gentle way of dealing with us as his children. Regardless of what the enemy tries to say or do, it is God who leads and goes before us until we are brought to a place of stillness and serenity. It is not wonder we all crave a little quiet time from time to time. Perhaps when the noise of the world is tuned out, we are able to hear God better and feel His leadership for it is He who leads us and feeds our soul along the journey.
He restores my soul.
We serve a God of restoration. The Lord restores your soul as He guides and leads you in life. When we feel as though we have lost time and effort in the endeavors that don’t pan out like we hoped, we have to remember that God restores. There is no loss so great the Lord your God cannot restore. And the wonderful thing about God’s restoration, is He gives you so much more than what was lost.
He leads me in path of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Because Righteous is He who made us, we ourselves become followers of righteousness as we draw nearer to our heavenly father in our walk with him. With God as our leader, we are led in the path of righteousness amidst the temptations that surround us, seen and unseen.
Friend, being your shepherd is the cap of what God does out of his unconditional love for his children, for you and me.
May God grant us the faith to trust only HIM as our shepherd in Jesus name. Amen
This was absolutely beautiful! I love how you broke it down! I loved the part about tuning the world out because that’s exactly what I feel like I should do right now in order to hear more about what God is calling me to do. To listen like Samuel and lead like Joshua..
God is with you and always for you. Just grow in worship and obedience and HE will bless you beyond your own comprehension. I continue to pray for you love. Thank you for reading and God bless you.