Psalm 23: The Lord Is My ShepherdSample

The Lord is my Shepherd

One of the most beloved passages in the Bible is Psalm 23. This Psalm has comforted and encouraged countless people over the centuries. It unveils a beautiful picture of how God wants to guide and bless us throughout our lives.

Knowing who God is and what He does in our lives is critical for every believer. A.W. Tozer once stated, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Our view of God will shape every other aspect of our lives. It is important we read our Bibles to know who God is, not just what He can do for us. God is the center of Scripture, and the Scriptures reveal His glory. We are His beloved children.

Psalm 23 begins with these beautiful words, “The Lord is my Shepherd”. 

There are many names for God, but one of them is Shepherd. God wants to lead and guide us as our good Shepherd. He is the good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep.

Jesus told us this in John 10:11-17, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.”

We give our lives to Jesus because He laid down His life for us. We love Him, because He loved us first. While we were still far off, dead in our sins, and enemies of God – He gave heaven’s best to draw us close and make us His own. Only a good Shepherd would do such a thing, and there is only One who is good.

He tends to us as a good Shepherd would. He searches for us and seeks us out when we have gone astray. He guards us. He guides us. He protects us. He cares for us. He tends to our needs. He gathers us in His arms. He carries us close to His heart. He gently leads us. He speaks softly over us. He guides us to living water and quenches our thirst. He feeds us. He lays down His life to give us abundant life. It is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.