Psalm 23 is one of the most beloved Scriptures in the Bible—and it opens with a simple, yet powerful declaration in verses 1–3…
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.
The Lord isn’t the shepherd of the world, nor is He just the shepherd of the Church. The psalmist declares the Lord is my shepherd. It is personal.
Recognizing and accepting Him as your personal shepherd changes everything.
The first benefit mentioned for those who know Him as their shepherd is that they shall not want. That means that they will not lack. If the Lord is your shepherd, you will not lack for peace, direction, or provision. You will have everything you need.
And notice also, rest is not optional when Jesus is your shepherd. He makes you lie down, not in a desert or in the wilderness, but in green pastures. He will see to it that His sheep are rested and fed.
In these green pastures, we feed in an unhurried fashion. We don’t run through the pasture, grabbing a few bites of food while we hurry on our way. No, this speaks of prayerful, unhurried study and reflection in His Word that He wants for all of His flock. If we are too busy for that, we are not yet following Him.
Additionally, He leads us beside still waters. That speaks of the peace that the Spirit brings, and how God restores and refreshes our souls when we spend unhurried time feeding on His Word.
Notice the repetition of the phrase “He leads.” The Lord does not drive us, force us, or harass us into going a certain way. He leads us, meaning that it is our responsibility to follow Him. If we follow Him, we will lack nothing. If we follow Him, we will have peace and restored souls, for the sake of His name.
I remember a gentleman who came to see me years ago. As we sat together in my church office, he was in a near panic. He had just lost his job and was imagining the worst. He talked about not being able to pay his bills, losing his house, and not being able to take care of his family.
In his head, he was playing a movie, in vivid color, of every possible thing that could go wrong. I told him to slow down and consider some other outcomes. We talked about God’s promises and His faithful nature. We both shared stories of how the Lord had helped us through hard places in the past.
When he left my office about an hour later, he seemed like a completely different man. He had hope. Based on God and His promises, he saw a very different future than the one the devil had been painting for him before he came to see me. He realized the Lord was his shepherd.
Whatever you’re going through right now, this psalm is a reminder: The Lord is your shepherd. You can trust Him. You can rest. You can be restored. And even in the valley, He is with you.
That’s what the Good Shepherd does for His sheep.
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