Most of us are familiar with Psalm 23, which starts with, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” We have heard it read many times, and the words are familiar to us, but do we really understand what it means that the Lord is our shepherd?

One thing I love about God is that He gives us real, tangible things and experiences to show us what He is talking about in His Word. I played around and googled about the relationship between a sheep and its shepherd.

This is what it said: “Core Dynamics

Symbolic Meaning: In religious and historical contexts, this dynamic represents supreme care, loyalty, and spiritual guidance. [1, 2]

Total Dependence: Sheep cannot easily find water, safe grass, or defend themselves from danger, making them entirely reliant on the shepherd’s choices. [1, 2]

Recognition and Trust: Sheep learn to recognize the specific sound of their shepherd’s voice and will follow only them, ignoring the calls of strangers. [1, 2]

Protection and Guidance: The shepherd leads the flock away from harm, watches over them at night, and rescues individual animals that wander off or get lost. [1, 2]”

Our God loves and cares for His sheep. He provides everything we need, as we see in Psalm 23:1. Needs and wants are very different. God does not and is not required to give us everything we want because sometimes our human flesh wants things that are not God’s best for us and therefore are not what we need.

Our God is loyal to His sheep. He is a covenantal God. In Genesis 12 we see God making His covenant with Abraham and his descendents. God is not a liar, and He keeps His Word. We can believe and trust Him.

Our God guides us spiritually. Everyone who has believed in their heart and confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord has received the Holy Spirit. When we acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a Savior, cry out to God, repent, and pray for Him to come into our hearts and lives, we are given a helper, the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16, 26; John 15:26; John 16:13). He has provided a helper to guide us into the truth that sets us free.

Our God is our refuge and safe place (Psalm 46:1; Psalm 91:2,4; Psalm 62:7-8; Psalm142:5; Deuteronomy 33:27; 2 Samuel 22:3), He is our defender, which we will talk more about next week. He protects us and fights for us.

John 10:10-15; 27-30 says,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

When we belong to Jesus, He is our shepherd, and as we get to know Him through His Word, through prayer, and through the experiences He brings us through, we learn to hear His voice more clearly. As we know Him and His voice, we are more aware of when the enemy comes with his lies and tries to steal, kill, and destroy us; we will know the truth that sets us free from the lies that come against us from the enemy, the world around us, and our own flesh.

Our God is our protector; He watches over us and leaves the 99 to go after the one in Matthew 18:10-14. He watches over, cares for, and goes after the ones who are wandering. He waits expectantly for the prodigal to come home. (Luke 15:11-32).

Our God gives us rest. Psalm 23:2-4 says; “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. We will talk more about this later as well, but our shepherd is a restorer.

Our God leads us. He wants to lead us through this life. That requires surrender and submission on our part. For a long time, submission was challenging for me. I had experienced several controlling people in my life, and I held on tighter, determined not to let anyone control me. This was not a healthy mindset for me. It was self-protective and yet self-destructive at times.

God is teaching me to surrender my plans for His steps daily. It is freeing. This week in the social media posts and video, I will share some personal testimonies with this and some practical steps on how we can learn to let Him lead better and why it is safer and more peaceful when He does.

I am grateful our Heavenly Father loves us and is our Shepherd. I pray this truth from His word comforts you and gives you peace and hope today.

I encourage you to continue to get to know Him in the Bible, pray, and ask Him to help you hear His voice and lead you where He is taking you.

See you this week!