Anxious: Fighting Anxiety with the Word of GodSample

Day Five: Shepherd and Shield

Read Psalm 23.

There’s no doubt that an anxious mind complicates a simple thing. Sure, we’ve all got complicated, painful relationships. Sure, we’re juggling lots of responsibilities and wearing lots of hats, and dealing with lots of incoming problems. And of course, you, if you were really smart, might be building a tornado shelter right now. But let’s remember this truest of true things. We are sheep, and we have a Good Shepherd who loves us and who leads us.

All week, we’ve been looking at David. There’s so much of his life we didn’t have time to cover. He had lots of great days and lots of bad ones. Based on his life events, he likely experienced the anxiety of being the victim and the anxiety of being the bad guy. But he was a bad guy with faith in a good God. He was often a bad guy whose prayer life demonstrated that he sought forgiveness and protection, not through an earthly shield (not even when fighting a giant) but an eternal One. God protected David from his fears and from following his sin to destruction. God guarded and guided His child through all kinds of circumstances we can hardly imagine.

Here’s the thing. Because of Jesus, we have access to the Shepherd. Because of Jesus, we have access to safety and satisfaction. Because of Jesus, we are sheep who don’t need to be afraid of the lingering wolves in our lives. He leads us. He loves us. He is with us.

We are like David in that we fail, but Jesus doesn’t. We worry, but Jesus understands. Jesus knows this world is broken, sad, and scary. But when we hold up what we are anxious about next to the good news of the gospel, we see that we actually can rest because He has already handled everything on our behalf. We are His, and He has won, is winning, and will win forever. It’s not a one-time thing. It’s an everyday opportunity to sit at His feet and in His Word, to claim His promises, think on His help, and believe in His power.

What can you do this week to remember the truth—that Jesus, your Shepherd, is with you—loving you, comforting you, leading you, holding you, and protecting you?

For more of this study, including video teaching by author Scarlet Hiltibidal, visit lifeway.com/anxious. 

Works Cited

1. Bible scholars say that Abimelech was sometimes used as a proper name but was also a common title for a Philistine king. So, as explained in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 9), Abimelech may have been King Achish’s title. It is likely they are the same dude.

2. “Jehovah Rapha (The Lord Who Heals),” Blue Letter Bible, accessed February 23, 2021, https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm. 

3. Strong’s H6960, Blue Letter Bible, accessed February 22, 2021, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H6960&t=CSB. 

4. Matthew Henry, “Commentary on Psalms 61,” Blue Letter Bible, accessed on February 22, 2021, via https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Psa/Psa_061.cfm?a=539001.