Our good shepherd

By Dean Collins

Maybe this passage should be read, prayed, and applied more while we are living than just when we are mourning and saying goodbye to a loved one. Don’t misunderstand, Psalm 23 is a great and appropriate passage to have read at the graveside. But I wonder how much more life and peace we might experience if we took this passage to heart daily?

This familiar psalm is filled with wonderful truth that, when applied to life, truly changes our perspective and keeps our focus on Jesus instead of our relentless tendency to focus on self.

In John 10, Jesus describes a few characteristics and behaviors of a shepherd:

He calls his sheep by name and leads them out (3).
He goes before them, and his sheep follow him (4).

Jesus goes a step further when he declared: “I am the good shepherd.” He then describes additional characteristics of a good shepherd:

The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep (11 and 14).
The good shepherd knows his own and his own know him (14).

We have the advantage over David because we know the rest of the story. We know that centuries after David wrote his psalm, God sent his son Jesus who told us he was our shepherd. We also know the events of Holy Week, which will soon be upon us. Our good shepherd Jesus did lay down his life for his sheep. He did take all our sin and shame to the cross. He died, was buried, and rose from the grave just has he told his disciples that he would.

Now let’s reconsider Psalm 23 with a clear picture of our good shepherd Jesus.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” My guess is you and I have thought about and quoted this one line as much as just about any bible passage we know. It is hard to say it or hear it without sensing something divine. These words connect to our very souls. We know that Jesus is our good shepherd. I think our problem is in the end part of this verse: “I shall not want.” 

I suspect that if we are completely honest, we would have to admit that our tendency is to want what we want, which has a very different meaning than “I shall not want.” 

It sounds rather selfish or childish to suggest that we want what we want. We tend to cringe when we see a child or adult demanding to have their way. My guess is that neither of us are really like that very often. We may have a moment here and there but hopefully it is not our normal disposition. 

But what about when we are thrown a difficult situation? It might be financial stress, a serious disease, a child in trouble, an undesired job change, or worse, some combination of a few of these problems. As believers I am confident that one of the first things we do is pray. And now we are close to the crisis of faith that comes within the first line of Psalm 23. The thing that is likely true is that each of us wants God to do what we want. But that is not what this psalm says.

To declare that “the Lord is our shepherd, I shall not want,” is to accept by faith that our shepherd is everything we want and need. “I shall not want” places our wants into the hands of the savior, who we believe is a good shepherd, and therefore will meet us and get us through every situation, including the ones we really don’t want to go through.

This beautiful scripture promises that our shepherd is enough no matter how high the mountain or how deep the ocean. He will make us lie down and rest. He will lead us to places of calm. He will walk through every valley with us. He will even guide us through death itself when that moment comes.

Because he is our good shepherd, we do not have to fear. Instead, we will place our faith in his plans and feast from the table he sets. And when we get through this current or ongoing situation, we know that coming right behind us will be the goodness and mercy of our good shepherd as he continues to walk us through all of the days of our lives, both the ones on this side of eternity and the ones we continue to walk forever in the presence of the Lord.

Father, thank you for the reminders of scripture that tell us that Jesus is our good shepherd and that he knows our names and even speaks them on our behalf as he sits at your right hand even now. Thank you for the promise that you are enough. Increase our faith, that we might let go of our wants and surrender every care and worry into your hands. Forgive us for the times our wants drive us to obsessing over things we cannot control. Today we choose to say and believe: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
John 10:1-18; Psalm 23:1-6 ESV

Ian Muttoo from Mississauga, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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