Who Is Your Shepherd?

PSALMS 23 says the LORD is my Shepherd.

Well, what does it mean?

It means that you are not your own shepherd.

It means He is the one making you lie down in green pastures, not yourself.

It means He is the one leading you beside the still waters, not yourself.

And what's the green pasture for? Is it for the comfort of our eyes only? No! The Green pasture is for food! It is for our nourishment. With Him as our Shepherd, we are secured that we will  always be fed, both physically and spiritually. 

No wonder He said "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26)

This might sound very allegorical to many but hey, Jesus fed 5,000 men (not counting women and children which will mount up to 15, 000) with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish. What can He not do?

If He did that before, He knows for sure how to get us a good income and not only feed us and our families, but also be a blessing to others. God's blessing and supply are always greater than the demand.

What about the still waters? Is it only for our eyes to behold? No! It is for our consumption too! He does not lead us beside the still waters just so we can gaze and admire it. He leads us there so that He can quench our thirst! 

And more importantly, He is that living water that we must drink. John 7:37 says it this way "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink". 

Jesus is that drink that will forever quench our spiritual thirst. Once we drink it, we will never thirst again because the water that He gives us will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14)

Above everything else, "who" your shepherd is matters so much. In our case, the LORD is our Shepherd.

What does it mean again?

The LORD GOD who created the heavens and the earth, the One who flung the stars and galaxies into the space, and the One who governs the movements of all the celestial bodies, this same One is also our Shepherd. 

He who owns all the beasts and cattle in the field (Psalm 50:10) is watching over us.

He who parted the Red Sea for the Israelites is also thinking about us.

And He who loves us and gave Himself for us is right where we are, leading us out from every valley of death into a glorious land flowing with milk and honey.

If we could just stop trying to be our own shepherd and call upon the One, the Good Shepherd who has it all together, our lives would be much restful. 

We don't really need to be in control of everything. We just need Him  to be in control because after all, His hands are much much bigger than ours and is superbly able to carry us to the place where He wants us to be.

Besides, He is God. If He is in control, what can happen to us?