The Journey - Our Shepherd
Greetings!
Last post we explored the question Who Is God? We discovered some big themes about our big God. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at a familiar picture of Him and engage in a practice to help us embrace this truth... God is our Good Shepherd.
Psalms in Our Life With God
As we seek to grow in our spiritual formation and experience more Life with God, the Scripture is a wonderful place to hang out. The Psalms, in particular, give us rich words for grasping who God is and our relationship with Him. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Psalms give us divine language for conversation with God. The Psalms give us words to pray.
Psalm 23 may be as familiar to you as it is to me. As I return to meditate on it again and again, it has become a deep well of wisdom and encouragement. A comfort in times of trial. A guide when I feel lost. Reminding me of God’s goodness to me and His presence with me.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
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.
Surely Your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
We are Sheep!
Psalm 23 reminds us: we need a Shepherd because we are sheep!
In order to more fully understand the qualities of our Shepherd, it is helpful to learn about sheep.
“Do a little bit of reading about sheep and you’ll soon see they are not survivors.” -Tim Challies
Sheep need their shepherd to keep them safe, to be sure they are fed, to rescue them when they get lost, to heal them when they get sick.
Our Good Shepherd
Shepherds provide all kinds of things that sheep need and cannot do for themselves...
Lead them to green pastures. On their own they will stay in the same place and eat grass down to dirt.
Put them on their feet when they tip over, they can’t get up on their own.
Teach them to know their shepherd’s voice. They will follow anyone.
Protect them from wolves and other enemies.
Sheep Ruminate… We Meditate
Merriam-Webster defines “ruminate” this way: “to chew repeatedly for an extended period.” Sheep ruminate. They chew their cud and take a long time to digest it.
“Ruminate” also means “to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly,” and “to engage in contemplation.” God invites us to be like sheep with His Word… to ruminate and meditate on it.
Meditation on what God says in the Bible helps us move from an intellectual understanding, to metabolizing His love and truth into our heart. Meditate on Psalm 23 long enough and you will find that you have memorized it and can recall all or parts of it when you need it.
As we meditate on God’s Word, our hope is not that we can rattle off memorized scripture. Our hope is that the Scripture changes the way we see ourselves, the way we see the world, the way we see God. Scripture is not something to conquer. It is food for our lives that nourishes our life with God.
Just as Jesus prayed many Psalms, Psalm 23 can be our prayer, a conversation with God.
The Invitation
God is inviting you to trust Him as your Good Shepherd. To allow Him to lead you, care for you, protect you, love you. This is life with God. Like sheep we need Him in all these ways. We get distracted, afraid, overwhelmed. He is right here, with us. Ready to give us everything we need, even in the hardest times.
How to Go About It
As you spend time with Psalm 23. Pay attention to what stands out to you, what moves you, what you sense resistance to. Something may jump out to you as a truth you want to hang on to. Another phrase might be hard to believe, so you may want to talk with God about it.
Reading different translations can be helpful. They can give you fresh ways to look at scripture. Here are several versions of Psalm 23:1… which one resonates best with you?
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. (NIV)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (ESV)
God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. (MSG)
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. (NLT)
Which part of Psalm 23 reflects where you are right now? Green pastures to rest? Learning to walk a path of righteousness? In a dark valley? Surrounded by enemies?
Our Practice: Living in Psalm 23
Pick a version and spend time with it. You may find that by meditating on it many times, it becomes easier to memorize.
Print it out and carry it with you. Look at it whenever you have a few spare moments.
Pray it. Talk to God about it. Especially talk to Him about the parts that don’t make sense. Talk to Him about it when you need to be reminded of His care for you. Pray it for others.
Interact with it by talking with God and explore…
Images of God you see in the Psalm: Protector, Provider, Rescuer, Guide, Doctor. Add your own!
What it’s like to lie down in green pastures.
Where your soul needs restoration.
Following Jesus in good paths.
God being with you in a dark valley.
Being with difficult people and knowing God is with you.
Goodness and faithful love following you all of your life. Consider what He wants you to know about this.
Dwelling in His house forever! What does that mean to you? What can He show you about this?
As we practice being with Him, sitting with the truth in Psalm 23, we live into His goodness and love. We live our life with God.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6
Next Time
Next post, we will explore another foundational question: Who am I? We’ll look at what God has to say about us and what that means for our relationship with Him, ourselves, and others. See you then!
Additional Resources
Article by Christopher Ash, How to Pray the Psalms
Article by Tim Challies, Dumb, Directionless, Defenseless
Book by W. Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23
Video, What to do if you see a sheep stuck on its back
Video, Sheep Following a Runner
If you don’t know me already… my name is Anne Greski. I serve as Women’s Ministry Director at Shallowford Church. I am a second-year student at the Renovare Institute, where I am learning how to enjoy life with God and share the deeper journey of Spiritual Formation in Christlikeness with others. My great desire is to experience friendship with God, and learn to love as God loves. You can reach me at anne@shallowford.church