Verses 1-6, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 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 runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”
Even though a shepherd was a lowly position, David was not ashamed to have been one in his youth. Besides, it gave him insight into the relationship with our God in Heaven. A shepherd was a humble position, which required the right heart. Who demonstrated humility better than Jesus? He even refers to Himself as the good shepherd. John 10:11-18, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.' ”
We are likened to sheep, which should make you ponder why. One particular characteristic of sheep is that they will eat anything, regardless of whether or not it can harm them. When you consider the wholesome word of God by which we should be consuming daily, you can start to see how some Christians will instead take in utter garbage to their own harm. Another characteristic of sheep is that they like to wander from the fold and the protection of the shepherd, right into harms way. This is where the tools come in...the rod and staff. The shepherd uses them to assert his authority. He can take out a predator or gently and firmly prod a sheep in the right direction with the same tools. Sheep that are particularly stubborn to the shepherd's prodding, might require more force or be snatched out of harm's way abruptly with the crook of the staff. Although traumatic at the moment, the force of the tools is not deadly on the sheep and always has the goal of preserving their life.
With Jesus as our shepherd, we do not need to fear. He is concerned not only with our physical well being, but more importantly, our spiritual well being. All that we need is supplied by our Shepherd and nothing will happen to us outside of His watch...that is, of course, if we remain in the fold. Wandering sheep will be sought after and brought back; some requiring more force than others. Therefore, as sheep, we need not worry. Matthew 6:31-33, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Our Shepherd knows when we need rest and restoration, and leads us to that place...if we will follow. Too often, we go off on our own, in search for greener pastures and calmer waters, outside of God's will and His path of righteousness; when all we really need to be concerned with is where our Shepherd is, and stay by His side. He'll take care of the rest. Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The world, under the sway of the devil, will tempt you to free yourself from the presence and authority of the Shepherd, deceiving you into thinking that you'll be better off apart. These thoughts are crafted and delivered right when you will be the most vulnerable to attacks...in times of trouble so that you doubt the safety and comfort of the sheepfold and why you remain there in the first place. But remember that the rod and staff are less painful and much safer than the predators outside.
However, no matter how bad our present situation may look, we do not need to fear because our Shepherd has the tools to protect us. This knowledge should bring us comfort. Our concerns can be laid at the feet of Jesus, who is doing everything to preserve our life and protects us from our enemies. I Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Simply being in the presence of God will cast away all fear and doubt. Knowing that He takes responsibility to care for us, being the object of His love, gives us the encouragement we need to continue in the face of our trials and enemies. We know our final resting place, and that no one will separate us from the love of Christ, our Shepherd.
Revelation 22:14-15, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”
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