“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.

Personally, I first heard of it way back in Sunday school. Also, our mother put up a picture of the psalm in our sitting room.

Psalm 23 was part of a set of poems that David composed decades after becoming king, specifically during the period when his son Absalom led a revolt to oust him.

With all the turmoil and betrayal around him, David celebrated God has 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 Caregiver, Strength 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 helpless sheep – feeding them, caring for the weak and the sickly, seeking out those that are lost, guiding and leading them with loving kindness, and protecting them from enemies.

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 care for you in every way

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 followers (verse 11), saves them (verse 12), guides them (verse 13), and supplies their needs (verse 14).

In ancient times, the shepherd would walk in front of the flock and the sheep knew the shepherd’s 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 care for 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 attitude that the apostle Paul admonished the elders of 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)

It’s not your church dear brother; it’s God’s Church!

Let that sink in; God cares for His people and for you in particular because you’re part of His flock, which He purchased with His own Blood! Christ laid down His life for you, which is exactly why He called Himself “the Good Shepherd.”

He promises to always take care of you because He is your 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. Amen!