The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  

Psalms 23:1

When I was a young believer every time I heard Psalm 23, it would conjure up a picture of being by a graveside, where the pastor would recite this psalm as people were making their final goodbyes.  It left me with the impression that this was a psalm for the dead; that is until the Holy Spirit whispered into my heart one day and said that this is a “Word” for the living.

King David wrote the words of this psalm to affirm his confidence in the grace of God.  These words became a source of encouragement in times of trouble, as each verse magnified differing aspects of the character and nature of a faithful God.    It is interesting to note that the first characteristic of God that David mentions in Psalm 23, was that the Lord was his Shepherd.

David could so identify with the role of the shepherd, because he himself was a shepherd from a young age.  He learned so much about the loving heart of God, through the day to day analogies of attending to his sheep.  He understood that it was the role of the shepherd to responsibly guide the sheep to safe places where they could be fed, watered, and rest, while the sheep’s role was to follow the shepherd.  

The shepherd became whatever the sheep needed; from nurturer, healer, defender, provider and guide.  And David humbly came to understand how truly dependent the sheep were upon the shepherd.   It was there in David’s daily journeys that he discovered, that he too was a sheep and that the Lord was his Jehovahrohi. (“The Lord Our Shepherd”) 

It was in that revelation David could boldly say: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.   David possessed a peace and a rest because he was not on his own, he had a Shepherd that would be there anytime, night or day and therefore he did not want for any good thing.  As you go about your day, forge ahead with full assurance in the heart, that you have a Good Shepherd who is able and there all the time!

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me– ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 10:14-15