When the year begins many pray for God’s guidance. We want God to go before us, to bless the work of our hands, and to make all things possible by his might. These prayers start strong but often dwindle halfway through the year. Devotion to God will waver without a proper understanding of how he leads. Psalms 23 offers insights into God’s leading. Let us study the ways of the good shepherd so that we may faithfully follow him all our days.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
Quite a picturesque scene. As a shepherd leads his flock so God leads his children. King David, the writer of this psalm, was once a shepherd and thus understood the ways of sheep. Sheep need food and water to survive but left to their way they won’t find it or will harm themselves in the process of searching. They need a shepherd who knows the land, who has walked through it and will lead them to what they need.
God sees farther ahead than we do. He sees times past and the days to come. What he has in store for us is more than we can see. He sees beyond this present moment, something we can’t do. This makes him especially trustworthy. If we insist on our way, all we will have is our limited wisdom to guide us but if we trust in the good shepherd we have access to his infinite wisdom. We can speculate where our plans will lead us, but we know where the shepherd leads us, beside still waters and green pastures.
In one sense we are like sheep however, our wants run deeper than food and water. Vs1 claims that if the Lord is our shepherd we shall not be in want. Does this mean that we will have everything we could ever want when we follow God? Yes and no. God isn’t a wishing well who gives you everything your desire. Rather, all good things find culmination in God for he is the source. In that sense, if you are his, you have everything.
3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.
From green pastures to a valley of death. Ouch! It’s one thing to be led to still waters another through a valley of shadows. Note the word change: he leads me beside still waters but through a valley of the shadow of death. In one place we are resting in another on the move. The hardest parts of the journey are not the end. Suffering will soon pass. If you are in Christ, you may be walking through pain, but you will rest in a land with no pain. Even in that pain, the good shepherd promises to comfort you. Fear not, he is with you.
The good shepherd is not only our comfort but also our leader. Being the leader, he does redirect our paths. Vs 3 says he guides us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. In a world where the right way is your way such a verse is quite offensive. Culture urges us that the highest good is to pursue our happiness, to trust ourselves, and to do what you will. These may work fine in the world but they are wrong philosophies. You will destroy yourself if you live for yourself.
When we approach God with these philosophies, we are bound to get angry at him. To be guided by God requires obedience. Obedience involves rejecting sin and even leaving good things for the sake of Christ. God will not bless the works of sin. His blessing may also fall on a different path than the one you are on. We will be redirected multiple times in our life. Some dreams we have are not his will. Plans will be changed. He may ask you to give up your desires, to take up a different job, to love in spite of hurt, to sell your treasures and follow him, to surrender even your very life for his name’s sake.
In those moments when God is directing you to something you don’t want, remember that he is the Good Shepherd. He works for your good and ultimately his glory, which is also good. Pray over your dreams but hold them with an open hand. Commit your way to the Lord. Ask him how you can glorify his name with your choices. Hold fast to your faith, remember who he is and follow him along the narrow path.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Looking at the system of society it can seem like those who have no regard for God get farther than those who do. The wicked get rewarded and those with integrity get punished. This skewed scale of justice will be done away with by Christ. Each will be rewarded their due in the end. Remain in Christ. Narrow is the path leading to life, wide the one to ruin.
6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Why are you following God? In biblical times, crowds followed Jesus for his miracles and wise words. We are not so different, especially as the year starts. We want God to make the year great, so we devote ourselves to him. Many follow Jesus for what he can give, few for who he is.
I think back to the disciple Simon Peter who followed Christ even after he got his miracle of a big catch of fish, or Mary Magdalene who followed Christ to Golgotha where he could offer her nothing but grace as he hung on the cross naked and dying. They knew why they followed Christ. It wasn’t for health or wealth but to be with him.
We ought to follow the shepherd to be with the shepherd. Vs 6 ‘and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever’. Our ‘reward’ for following God is getting to be with God. Is this why you are following Jesus? How sad it would be to be part of the crowd that follows Christ and miss out on him in the end. Jesus is not simply a teacher and miracle worker on earth, he is the Lord God. He is a living person to be believed in. Believe in Christ for who he is not what he can do.
The assurance of Psalms 23 is that we shall not be in want because we have all we need in God, that God directs us to paths of righteousness for his glory, that we need not fear evil and death because God will lead us through them to a perfect land and that there we will be with him eternally where goodness and mercy flow.
When we accept how God leads, we can truly surrender our lives to him. The primary way he leads us is through the bible. Study it and learn God's will. He is trustworthy. In him is the path to life.
He leadeth me, O blessed thought
O words with heavenly comfort fraught
Whate'er I do, where'er I be
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me
-Candi Pearson Shelton-