Is the Lord your Shepherd?

The Divine Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
²     he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;^[a]
3     he restores my soul.^[b]
He leads me in paths of righteousness^[c]
    for his name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,^[d]
    I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
    thy rod and thy staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely^[e] goodness and mercy^[f] shall follow me
    all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    for ever.^[g]

We've all heard this passage before but only as of late have I really come to understand the meaning of this passage. Often times we read the words of our bible and forget to look beyond the words on the page. How often do you truly allow God to be your shepherd?

 

Back in the time of David being a shepherd was a symbol of strength, loyalty, protection and faithfulness. If we were to use a more current example one might think of a firefighter or marine, someone willing to risk everything to ensure our protection.

Like these examples God our shepherd is here to protect us and lead us to safety. In this world it is easy to be led astray but like the shepherd our Lord is searching for us, ready to care for us, to protect us and to lead us, we just have to let him be our shepherd.  Let the Lord lead you, not just in the areas of your life that are easy to delegate to him but in all areas of life and have faith in the promise that he has made all of us to provide for our every need.