I don’t like being a sheep…not at all! Being a sheep doesn’t seem to me to be any kind of achievement, nor do I consider that comparison a compliment. However, the Bible says that I am a sheep. I get lost easily. I’m equally helpless, gullible, and I can’t survive alone. I need a shepherd. The Bible says I have a Shepherd, and the best one out there. My Shepherd is a good shepherd, Jehovah Raah, and because He is my Shepherd, this psalm is my prayer, my comfort through life as much as He was for King David. God is my Shepherd and I shall not want. He cares for me. He provides my every need, and like Paul I can say I know what it is to be in need, I know what it is to have plenty, but I have learned to be content in my Lord. When my soul is battered, tired and weighed down, He leads to green pastures and still waters. When I’m with Him, my soul is restored and I gain strength to move forward. He leads me in the paths of righteousness, because He chooses me to bring glory to His name.
Tough times will come, and unfortunately valleys of death are all around us, but I’m not afraid because my Shepherd is with me. He is my shield and my comfort. He is the One who defends and exalts me in the midst of my enemies. My life is filled with blessings, and that effects everything around me.
How can we live out this psalm in everyday life?
First, we can confess that we are sheep, we can’t do it alone, and that we need a shepherd.
Then we can thank the Lord, because He is our good Shepherd, and we can read this psalm through the coming days thinking about our wonderful Shepherd. This will completely change our perspective, the way we live and how cope with problems of this world.