Every single time I sit down to write, I pray for God to give me wisdom. I want my words to honor and glorify Him at all times.
Today is no different. I felt so strongly The Holy Spirit nudging me to go through Psalm 23 with you, so I have rescheduled this week’s posts so we could walk through this chapter together this week.
Over the weekend as Terry and I would come together to pray, I kept feeling this nudging, “I am the Shepherd.” I began praying about it Saturday and asked Papa to reveal to me what He was saying. I began reading Psalm 23 and the notes in my Bible. There are six verses of this chapter. This week, you and I are going to walk through each verse, day by day.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” - Psalm 23:1 (NIV)
During David’s time, “shepherd” was a metaphor used for kings. So David was saying to God, “You are my Shepherd-King.” Because David knew this, he said, “I shall not be in want.” The footnote in my Bible says, “On the contrary, he will enjoy “goodness” all his life.”
You and I have a Shepherd-King, too. Jesus.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” - John 10:11 (NIV)
It is so easy for us to “be in want” right now. But there are good wants and there are bad wants. There are people wants and there are God wants. I want to want what God wants.
It is okay to be sad and upset right now. It is okay to be confused and frustrated with having to self-isolate. We need to look at the much bigger picture, though. If what we are doing by staying home saves lives, we can have a better sense of joy. We can take comfort and joy in knowing we might be saving lives. The Good Shepherd saved our lives. He saved your life and my life when He laid His life down for us.
A lot of people have legitimate physical wants right now. They don’t have toilet paper because people selfishly hoarded it all from the stores. So maybe we can help them? Call the elderly lady who lives in your neighborhood and ask if she has enough. Leave some on her doorstep. Social distancing. You don’t have to touch her or bring in your germs.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He is also the Chief Shepherd. “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” - 1 Peter 5:4 (NIV)
Again, the footnote in my Bible sums it up so beautifully: “The Chief Shepherd, Christ. When He returns, He will reward those who have served as shepherds under him.”
I want to be a shepherd serving The Chief Shepherd. I want to be one who helps guide others to Jesus; our Good Shepherd. Our Chief Shepherd. Our Shepherd King. Even during a time of social distancing, we can shepherd others to The Shepherd King.
Be the light. Share the toilet paper. Check on the people who are older and alone. Check on the people who are single and alone. Check on the people who are married. Check on each other. Let’s guide everyone to our Shepherd King: Jesus.