The Lord Is My Shepherd

Psalm 23 (KJV) 

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

There is something unique about proclaiming the Word of God aloud. Something that happens not just in the speaking, but in the hearing, reading and meditation of it, even when the words are familiar. 

In this case, Psalm 23, a Scripture I learned early on while I was young, mostly through repetition and routine. I carried it through moments when saying it felt more fitting than understanding it, almost robotic if I’m being honest. Getting the words right became the goal.

Psalm 23 before leaving for school 
Psalm 23 in the morning assembly 
Psalm 23 during class 
Psalm 23 before going to sleep 
Psalm 23, when fear crept in 
Psalm 23, when asked to quote Scripture 
Psalm 23 all day, every day 

And like that, the words settled into memory long before they had meaning to me.   

For many Christians, Psalm 23 is one of the more familiar passages of Scripture. It’s often among the first set of scripture we memorize. There comes a moment when the declaration shifts and the words move from being recited to being believed, and then, the knowing of what is being spoken begins to take effect.  

That is where this Psalm meets us. 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 
Not a line to just recite, but a truth to stand on. A confession spoken aloud until one comes into the full knowledge of the declaration that accompanies the entire chapter. And perhaps that is the gift of proclaiming the Word aloud. Over time, it teaches us that repetition is not in vain when it leads us to knowledge and eventually, belief. 

The Lord is my shepherd

When I think of Psalm 23, I can’t help but imagine the psalmist pouring forth in a loud voice. This is a bias due to the declarative air of proclaiming the Lord as my shepherd. Quite frankly, it is an effective sword to be used against the enemy’s taunts. It feels similar to a child’s instinctive cry, and move towards reporting to a guardian. In the same way, our response to the bully, the accuser, the devil is declaring that the Lord is our Shepherd 

So who is this Lord? It is a question that invites a simple answer. The Lord is God, Yahweh. 

Then why does the psalmist choose to declare Him as Shepherd in Psalm 23, when other titles are available, such as King, Defender, Warrior, or Healer? 

It is clear that the psalmist is drawing us into the imagery of a shepherd and his sheep, a shepherd who tends to his flock and regards the sheep as an extension of himself. 

The Lord, who is God, is your shepherd and sees you as an extension of Himself.

When we zoom in, it reads like this – The Lord, who is God, is our Shepherd and sees us as an extension of Himself. So, for this reason, cry out loud; the Lord is my shepherd. 

I shall not want 

“I shall not want” is another declarative statement that further completes a previously stated sentence. Because the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 

Want what exactly?  

Therein lies the answer. It is a blank cheque. I shall not want whatever it is, because the Lord is my shepherd and abundantly provides. Other bible versions say I lack nothing, I have everything I need, I don’t need a thing, I always have more than enough, I will never be in need.  

The psalmist then goes on to describe what the shepherd does, which is He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.  

Given the imagery of sheep and shepherd, pastures to lie down suggest a sense of safety. When the sheep has been fed, when care has been communicated, and worries stilled, all of these create the necessary conditions that inevitably allow the sheep to lie down, not on withered ground, but on lush green pastures. 

Having stilled fear and anxiety, all that is left for the sheep to do is rest.

Then He leads beside still waters.  Waters calm enough to drink from without fear. That is what we call an intentional shepherd. 

He does not point from afar. He does not give directions and hope I find my way. He leads me to the still waters

He restores my soul

There is something about feeding that restores, both physically and spiritually. And that restoration can only be done by the good Shepherd Himself. Having given His body and His blood, a meal to be taken until He comes, and having given His Word through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the soul is restored because of who is doing the restoring.

The soul drives the will of the body. When the soul is restored, alignment happens. When alignment happens, movement toward the shepherd follows. That is why He restores the soul.

He restores the soul of the sheep to Himself. In doing so, the Shepherd fulfills His role, realigning the sheep to His voice and guiding them back whenever they wander. 

He leads into the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake

The only path the Shepherd leads on is in right standing with Him. Wherever the Shepherd leads becomes righteousness by virtue of His presence. If a path is not righteous, then the Shepherd is not the one leading there. And He does this for His name’s sake. 

This invites the question. Is the path you are on the one He is leading you through? If the shepherd is not leading, then who is? And to whose name is that path bringing honour? 

The valley of the shadow of death 

A teacher once asked, “What are you doing in the valley of the shadow of death?” 

It was a good question. I wondered about it briefly before returning to the principles of demand and supply. More than five years later, I find myself asking that question. What exactly am I doing in the valley of the shadow of death? 

There are a few possibilities. I could be here because of the broken nature of the world we live in. I may have walked into it by the nature of my own decisions. I may have been led into it. I may have stumbled into it on my way somewhere else. Whatever the reason, one thing remains certain. The valley of the shadow of death the psalmist talks about, has the Shepherd with me, and for that reason, I will not fear. 

Along the journey of life, there will be valleys. Places where fear, anxiety, and the lows of this world thrive. Yet the psalmist does not deny the valley. He adopts a posture within it. “I will fear no evil” because the Shepherd is with me.

It is striking that even the path of righteousness can lead to the valley. Still, the reminder must ring clearly. If the Lord is the one leading, then the path remains righteous by virtue of His presence. That path often serves as training, sometimes as testing, and always as preparation for what He intends to birth in you. And if you walked into the valley through missteps of your own, thank God for His mercy.  Our Shepherd is not a waster. He redeems what was lost and wastes no season. 

The psalmist suggests that it is the Shepherd who leads along this route. So why the valley and not the mountain? If He has been declared good, then He is indeed good. And if a good God leads you into a valley and walks through it with you, then the valley remains good, even when it does not feel like it. 

So, I return again to the question and pose it to myself. What am I doing in the valley of the shadow of death?
I am learning. Learning to keep my eyes on Him. 

His rod and His staff comfort me 

His rod protects, and His staff guides. Both bring comfort in the valley of the shadow of death. Not the valley of death itself, but the shadow of it. Intimidating? Yes. Frightening? Yes, but shadows nonetheless. 

As long as we can see the Shepherd’s staff guiding us, we can trust that He knows what He is doing. It would not be wise to wander away from Him whilst in the valley or even the mountain top. Staying close to the Shepherd and letting His rod and staff comfort and carry you through, lest the shadows overwhelm you, and you remain stuck, lost or even hurt by shadows. The mind is indeed a powerful thing.  

Following the comforting rod and staff through the valley is what eventually brings you through and sets you before a prepared table. After all, what better order of events than a feast after a trial? 

The table after the valley 

The Lord, who is my Shepherd, prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
For what reason? Surely not discomfort.
We have already established that He is good. We have just walked through the valley of the shadow of death with Him by our side. The trial has been faced, and the test has been passed. This table, then, must be one of honour. 

Not a plate, but a table. Not a small portion, but a whole feast.

It is prepared openly, in full view. The enemy watches, a clear reminder of their failed plan. The same valley they hoped would distract me and pull my eyes away from the Shepherd becomes the very path that leads me to this feast. I am seated while they spectate, I get a feast, and they do not.

Overflow and certainty 

The Shepherd then anoints my head with oil. The cup that was once depleted now runs over with reserves for the next path, wherever and whenever He leads. 

And with that lived experience, the psalmist speaks with certainty. No longer repeating what he has only heard, but declaring what he has experienced firsthand. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life until I come to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.“

And that is why we declare the Lord is our Shepherd.