In Psalm 23, we read that David was confident in God’s care for him. David truly believed that as long as YAHWEH was his Shepherd, he lacked nothing. He was not in want or in need.
Consider some needs the Shepherd cares for:
Need #1: Consider what our greatest need is. It is for our relationship with God, a total confidence in what He is doing. He does us no wrong. His plans for us are always good and bring Him glory. So in Him is our greatest need. In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches us to seek or to pray for our daily bread and not all the riches of the world. The great confidence which believers have in God is the following: “If the Lord is my Shepherd, my feeder, I may conclude I shall not want anything that is really necessary and good for me” Psalm 23.
#2 Need: Consider that David experienced spiritual nourishment. As a shepherd leads sheep to fresh grass for feeding, so the Lord leads His people. One who follows the Lord does not lack any spiritual nourishment. How does YAHWEH care for this arena?
- Pastor/shepherds (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2) are expected to feed the flock (John 21:15–17) as well. Food for the soul is the Word of God (Heb. 5:12–14; 1 Peter 2:2).
- Further, we need to go to God and His Word for our own feeding. Don’t be a follower that has to be spoon-fed everything you get for nourishment. Consider that the Shepherd wants us to be content and to lie down. To rest. To cease our pursuit of other things and to stop. Rest. He knows where the green pastures are and when it is time to stop and to rest in those pastures.
#3 Need: Consider God’s ability to restore our soul. But that restoration will be found after contentment and feeding and rest. The Lord provides forgiveness and peace for those who follow Him.
When his sheep are thirsty and weary, the Shepherd knows it. He has a plan.
Generally, everything we need and we should want is in the Shepherd. Is He enough for us, or do we want something else?
- In our fatigue, he is our rest.
- In our busy lives, we need quiet time with Him.
- In our hurts, He gives healing.
- In our hunger for something, he will feed our soul.
- In our emptiness, He will fill our void.
- He is our greatest need for worship and fulfillment.
- In our fears, He will protect and control all things.
- In our anxieties, He will be our peace and safety.
Consider this: We can find repose, rest, refreshment, and renewal (physical and spiritual go together) in the Shepherd of our souls. All we need will be supplied by the Shepherd when we follow Him. It would seem difficult in the day in which we live to find repose, rest, refreshment, and renewal. If we are struggling without rest, then we are not following the Savior/Shepherd. He always makes room for and time for repose, rest, refreshment, and renewal.
So then, when we must face the “valley of the shadow of death,” we are not overwhelmed. We fear no evil because we are ready and renewed. Notice also that the paths of righteousness are more readily attained AFTER we have been renewed and refreshed. Nourished. Fed. Watered. Rested. Now walk confidently.
#4 Need: He will lead us in right paths.
- The leading of the Shepherd is on right paths. Or literally, paths characterized by righteousness. This is God’s purpose and plan. We would not necessarily choose this path. But it is the path on which our soul experiences the likeness and image of God. We are changed into more and more of His likeness.
- The Lord’s leading guides us in the right way (paths of righteousness). A good shepherd knows the right paths on which to bring the sheep home safely. So too the Lord loses none of His sheep but guides them in the right way. He does so because of His reputation (for His name’s sake) first and foremost. In other words, He makes good on His own promises, His own character of holiness and righteousness. He has promised to make us more like Him. He will take us on this path.
- As a sheep, I must trust the Good Shepherd. These are the paths in which all the saints should desire to be led and to be kept, and never to turn aside out of these paths. Can we accept this truth? It is “For his Name’s sake.” To magnify his Name as a gracious and merciful God and Shepherd. Is that good for us? If we believe he is to be magnified in us as simple sheep, then we can accept the path of righteousness. Think of Pilgrim’s Progress.
So what can we conclude? He is our Good Shepherd. He wants us to rest. Renew. Refresh. Do we? Do we take time in Him and with Him? Can we disconnect from the world and our lives long enough for what the Shepherd would do for us?
Next, in part 3, we will see what God as our Shepherd does to protect His sheep.
