“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” – Psalm 23:1

“I am the Good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and I am known by My own.” – John 10:14

Psalm 23 is no doubt the best-known and most-admired of all the psalms.

I first heard of Psalm 23 when I was a little boy in Sunday school.

Also, my mother had a picture with the above verse on a wall in our sitting room.

Psalm 23 was part of a set of poems that David composed when was already the king, specifically during the period when his son Absalom led a revolt to topple him from the throne.

Despite the turmoil, blackmail and betrayal all around him, David publicly celebrated God as his shepherd.

Of course having been a shepherd in his youth, David fully understood the importance of a shepherd in a sheep’s life.

Throughout the Bible, the image of God as the Shepherd is a significant one, and more so as the proven Caregiver and Protector of Israel (Genesis 49:24).

Indeed, the people of Israel saw their relationship with God as that of sheep under the care of the Great Shepherd.

“Know that the Lord He is God: it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3, 79:13; Micah 7:14)

The people saw their God through the eyes of vulnerable sheep; ever ready to feed them, care for the weak and the sickly, seek out those that are lost, guide and lead them with loving kindness, and shielding them from dangers and enemies.

In the New Testament, our Lord Jesus Christ identified Himself as the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11). 

That means that He is the One that the Prophet Ezekiel prophesied about in Ezekiel 34: He seeks out His own (verse 11), saves them (verse 12), guides them (verse 13), and supplies their needs (verse 14).

Christ laid down His life for you, which qualifies Him to be called “the Good Shepherd.” Regardless of the circumstances you face, He promises to always take care of you because He is your Good Shepherd.

In ancient times, the shepherd would walk ahead of the flock and the sheep knew his voice and would follow only him.

That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know my voice.”

The Greek word for ‘shepherd’ or ‘pastor’ is a derivative of ‘flock’ (poimne) and means to ‘tend a flock of sheep.’

‘Tending’ implies much more than just feeding the sheep; it includes protecting, nurturing and nursing.

God wants you to know that you’re not on your own in this dangerous and dark world; you have a Shepherd who is always ready and willing to take care of you in every way.

1 Peter 2:25 says; “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

And it’s the same attitude that the apostle Paul admonished the church leaders in Ephesus to have in relation to the sheep of Christ: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own Blood” (Acts 20:28)

Hey; it’s not your church dear brother; it’s God’s Church; His own purchased property!

Let that sink in; God does care for His people including you because we’re His flock, which He purchased with His own Blood!

Christ laid down His life for you, which qualifies Him to be called “the Good Shepherd.”

Regardless of the circumstances you face, Christ promises to always take care of you because He is your Good Shepherd.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you because I know You as my Shepherd. Help me never to doubt Your ability and willingness to take care of me. In Your Name I pray, Amen!