Read: Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousnessfor his name’s sake. 4 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. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surelygoodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
There are experiences in life that turn us upside down. Events that are thrust upon us that shake us to the core. Even things we plan for can surprise us in how they hit us in unexpected ways and places.
These experiences can be incredibly disorienting. Losing a spouse, a parent, or a best friend and suddenly having a huge hole in our hearts. Getting laid off, fired, retiring, or quitting and instantly losing a title or role that we’d worn as a badge with pride. Watching a child leave for college (or kindergarten!); walk away from the Lord and us; or slipping away through an illness or accident and leaving a chasm where our parenting used to be.
Losses of these kinds stir up all sorts of questions, but perhaps the most disorienting of all is, “Who am I?” I thought I was a spouse, parent, child, pastor, engineer, coach…fill-in-the-blank. What am I? Who am I? Where do I go and what do I do to find out?
I wonder what life experiences led David to write the twenty-third psalm. Certainly, he had served as a shepherd and was very familiar with such a lifestyle. But what had happened that caused him to view himself as a sheep in need of someone to lead him. He was a king! He was a mighty soldier! He was a great leader! He was even called “a man after God’s heart.”
But David also knew hardship. He was chased and hunted by King Saul who wanted to kill him. He had children who were messed up and made horrible choices – including trying to overthrow his reign. And he committed horrible sin by committing adultery, trying to cover it up, and then having a man killed.
Through all of this, David rooted his identity in his relationship to God. He wrote seventy-three psalms – nearly half of them – pouring out his heart to God. He knew that the Lord was his strength; his rock; his deliverer. He knew that any blessing he had come from God.
“The Lord is my shepherd” – A sheep is bought at a price or bred and raised from a small lamb. David doesn’t say the Lord will be his shepherd if he does certain things; he doesn’t say the Lord is his shepherd except in certain conditions. There is a quiet confidence. He is a shepherd.
And he is my shepherd. He is not some nebulous shepherd to the masses (well he is, but that’s not how David knew him). He is a shepherd who cares for me. He watches over me. He preserves me. The personal care and concern. The beauty of this deep love. David found comfort and security in the thought that God cares for him like a shepherd cares for his sheep.
Like David, we need to find our identity not in the roles that can be lost or shaken or changed – parent, child, success, employee, owner, husband, wife, friend. We need a shepherd. All we have, ultimately, comes from our shepherd. He is the one who cares for us. He is the one who takes us to the green pastures and the still waters. He restores our souls.
When all around us is chaos and upside down, he is the one who is the same always. He is the one who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. He is the one who supplies all our needs that we might not want. He is our shepherd.
We need not fear death; we need not fear evil. Our shepherd is with us. His presence – the One who is Lord of all and who loves me and who does not abandon me – is constant. Even when the Lord, my shepherd, disciplines me; when he pokes and prods with his rod and staff; I know it is for my own good. His discipline, his redirection, his correction is a comfort to me.
There is an invitation in this psalm. We are invited to know God as our shepherd; to experience the intimacy, love, care, guidance, discipline and reward of the one who is Lord and shepherd. He promises blessing – a table set for us; a place to dwell; goodness and mercy to follow wherever we go. We may not understand who we are or where we fit from outside factors, but we can know with certainty that we are His. His child; his treasure; his sheep.
When our life is turned upside down; when we experience loss or simply find ourself disoriented and feeling lost, let us look to our shepherd. Let us look to the Lord who is always at our side. We shall not want. We will find rest and restoration for our soul.
Take time to reflect:
When have you felt disoriented or turned upside down? What did you do? What brought you comfort?
When you think of God as your shepherd, what is stirred in your soul? If a sheep could speak to its shepherd, what would it say or ask? What would you like to say or ask your shepherd? Take time to pour out your thoughts and questions to him!
Read Psalm 23 again. What comfort do you find in these verses? What encouragement? Do you sense God drawing your attention to a particular phrase or thought? Take time to ponder that. What is your shepherd saying to you today?