The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want …
Even before I became a Christian I remember Psalm 23. I remember the words falling softly on my ears, and perhaps my heart, as I sat at my grandfather’s funeral. It was the first time I had heard that passage.
I love the Old testament. I love imagining David and Joseph and so many others as shepherds. I love to imagine what their life was like. And today, I got a glimpse of that. We went on a walk by our house. We walked up a road by a lake:
As we got near the lake the whole passage of Psalm 23 came alive for me. We walked up on sheep grazing the hills surrounding the lake. There were a lot of them. And as we looked closer we could see the shepherd sitting on the hill watching. I stopped in my tracks, keenly aware of the spiritual parallel I just walked into, and took in all that the sheep were doing and all that the shepherd was doing. The sheep ate and drank, as you would expect. But the shepherd, the shepherd somewhat baffled me. He continued to sit on the hill as we approached. He didn’t call the sheep away from the “quiet water”. Nor did he send his sheep dog to herd them to safety or chase after us.
Verse 1 says that the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Perhaps when the shepherd is watching over you and you know His voice, you can trust him to take care of you. We weren’t going to harm the sheep. Maybe the shepherd could tell that. Maybe the sheep were so busy grazing and content that they didn’t think to worry about the danger staring them in the face. Perhaps that is why they didn’t run. Maybe my focus should have been on the sheep’s behavior instead of the shepherd. He was steady and calm and a faithful presence to the sheep. And the sheep responded in such a manner.
Verse 2 says that He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. This was happening before my very eyes. The pastures were more green than even Ireland grass. And the waters, the waters were quiet save the occasional fish that would jump. They were safe. Did they know that? Did they know the green pastures this man had led them to? Were they able to rejoice in the waters that were still and quiet? Or were they so used to them that they barely even noticed just how green or how quiet their surroundings even were.
Verse 3 says that He restores my soul. And in that moment, my soul was restored. Even now as I type this, my soul is calm and glad. I wonder if the sheep lept in joy and thanksgiving as they left that place, only to come a another good and safe and fruitful place.
He watches on. He calls us to follow. We listen and go. And enjoy the quiet and still and green and provision along the way. Completely taken care of. Completely loved and valued. The Lord is MY shepherd, I shall not be in want.
