The Good Shepherd
PSALM 23 · Christian Standard Bible
A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have what I need.
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside quiet waters.
He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
as long as I live.
Familiar? Very, it was plastered on the walls within many of the nurseries and Sunday School rooms of my childhood. You could say, I “grew up” on Psalm 23. There is a beautiful simplicity to this Psalm of David, and sometimes If I am honest the beauty gets lost in the familiarity, and maybe even the simplicity. “The Lord is my shepherd, I have what I need” seems so distant in my life of endless desire, and endless distraction. “I’m shepherdless, and I have more needs than can be fulfilled”, in this current season often is a more authentic sentiment. It’s likely this has always been the case, I may have been more prone to suppress these thoughts and feelings in past seasons.
Life seems EXTRA noisy right now, doesn’t it? I’m barely catching my breath and finished grieving from the most recent two election cycles, and here we go again … Election 2024! Just this week we “celebrated” the 4th of July, stuck in the tension of loving so many things about this beautiful country and lamenting so many brutal things about this country. Each new day brings news of another tragedy, sometimes near but many times afar. This season has taken with it friendships, partnerships, and ease of relationship with many in the Big C Church, and even some within our local Church. It’s been confusing, infuriating, and painful. It’s been noisy.
“The Lord is my shepherd”, I long to hear His voice, to feel His presence. I was created for it. You were created for it. Distractions pile up, don’t they? Constantly pursuing and limitless supply, they come for me, they come for you. I often reflect on my own Spiritual Formation journey and walk alongside many others in theirs. One common theme seems to be the ability to hear the still, and quiet voice of God through His spirit. Is this because distractions have a more powerful or limitless supply than God’s Spirit? Surely not! Then what is it? Many of us have a quiet time with the Lord, but showing up to it week in and week out is like slamming into a brick wall at 100 miles per hour. We consume so many things and have grown accustomed to constant stimulation. Showing up to the still presence and voice of our shepherd is disorienting, jarring, and sometimes painful.
Our heads live on a swivel bouncing from one thing to the next thing while we’re thinking about the next 100 things. How could we hear God’s voice, or notice His presence within us and around us? When the noise gets noisier, I know to slow down and quiet down, but I get sucked in quicker than I even notice that I’m struggling to hear His voice and notice His presence. Even in these moments, this Good Shepherd, in grace and love for me, gets my attention, most often in the least imaginable ways. Today, through this familiar psalm of David in between the glances at my phone and Social Media platforms beckoning me to a slower, and more simplistic life, a life lived at His pace and in His ways. How may God be inviting you to the same slower and more simplistic life with Him?
“The Lord is my shepherd”, I long to be led by His steady and secure hand. I was created for it. You were created for it. Sometimes it is easy to believe that the things I want, the things I need can be found over there. Over there where the grass is green, and the problems fade away. “Over there” is unique for each of us, yet, so similar. What is “over there” for you? You know, the thing you are hoping will finally resolve this pain or that pain. The place where you’ll finally be content, and feel satisfied. It’s embarrassing how often I’m tempted to believe that the satisfaction of my desires is going to be found “over there” when this is resolved, when this finally takes place, or when I get to this point of my life. I’m tempted to believe that good things, what I need, and the satisfaction of my desires are on the other side of my pain, and my problems. “The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need”, David seems to be intimate with the reality, that the SHEPHERD is what he needed, and ultimately is what we need!
What if what we are looking for isn’t on the other side of what we are facing? What if this Shepherd isn’t simply a provision of rescue to release us from the burden of our lives, but the very voice and person leading us into the burden of our lives? What if all the things we want in this life aren’t going to come to us by going around our pains or over our pains, but through them?
“The Lord is my shepherd”, Lord, teach me to hear Your voice. Lord, teach me to follow your ways. Lord, teach me to trust you with EVERY single detail of my life, the beautiful and the broken, the exuberant and the excruciating. Lord, teach me to be where I am and to be here with YOU! In YOU, I have what I need and I have what I want.
Submitted By: Matthew Korte