Scriptures: Psalms 23:1-6
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. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
We enter into relationship with God when we acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and confess Him as our Lord. Then, God will take us on a spiritual journey into His own house. In this journey the same Jesus who has become our Savior and Lord will lead us as our Shepherd. We are His sheep. Everything that we will need on this journey has been provided. Therefore we can say like the Psalmist, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psa. 23:1)
Our spiritual journey to the house God is not a short journey, but a very long one. Before we go on this long journey, we must have enough rest. Otherwise, we will be exhausted or even faint on the way and we will not make it our destination. Therefore, the Lord Jesus as our Shepherd gives us rest first to restore our soul as the preparation for our journey. “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul;” (Psa. 23:2-3)
The paths of our spiritual journey that will take us to the house of the Lord are the paths of righteousness. The Lord Jesus our Shepherd is also the Lord our righteousness. Therefore, as our Shepherd He will lead in these paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. To be able to walk in the paths of righteousness our soul must be restored and our heart must be at rest. Otherwise, we will keep falling into sin. A restored soul is a soul filled with peace, a soul that has been healed from wounds and has been free from demonic bondages. “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psa. 23:3)
As the sheep need their shepherd to lead them to walk in the path, likewise we need the Lord Jesus to lead us to walk in the paths of righteousness. The sheep follow their shepherd by hearing his voice. In the same way, we follow the Lord Jesus by hearing His voice from the Holy Scripture. The Lord Jesus Himself said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) Hence, to walk in the paths of righteousness we must always hear God’s words. The most practical way to hear God’s words is to speak the written word of God to ourselves.
In the paths of righteousness there is the valley of the shadow of death. The shadow of death is the situation that covers us with darkness and brings fear of death. If we have not learned to follow the Lord Jesus in the paths of righteousness, we will fear evil when we walk through this valley of the shadow of death. We will be afraid of death. But, if we have learned to follow the Lord Jesus in the paths of righteousness, we will fear no evil. We will not be afraid of death. We know that our Shepherd the Lord Jesus are always with us to protect us from evil. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me;” (Psa. 23:4)
The Lord Jesus as our Shepherd carries His rod and His staff as He leads us through the valley of the shadow of death in the paths of righteousness. The rod in His hand is to keep us from the evil ones who will come as ravenous wolves while the staff in His hand is to bring us back to the paths of righteousness when we begin to go astray. Therefore, we should take comfort in His complete protection. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psa. 23:4)
After we have experienced great comfort in our Shepherd’s complete protection when we walk though the valley of the shadow of death, we will no longer be afraid of the evil ones. We know that our enemies will not be able to hurt us or harm us, therefore, we can rejoice in their presence. The Lord Jesus said, “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luk 10:19) We can still enjoy our meals even when our enemies are present with us. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;” (Psa. 23:5)
When we are no longer afraid of our enemies we will have the fulness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will be filled with life inside and clothed with power outside. Like the shepherd will anoint his sheep’s head so that no bug can touch it, the Lord Jesus our Shepherd will anoint us with the Holy Spirit so that no evil can touch us. Therefore, we can be joyful and enjoy ourselves in the presence of our enemies. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.” (Psa. 23:5)
When the Holy Spirit in our lives is full, even runs over, then we will become like a magnet of the things of God. Our lives will automatically repel evil things and attract good things. We do not have to go after God’s blessings anymore because His blessings will go after us. We do not have to seek for God’s goodness and mercy anymore because His goodness and mercy will always follow us. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;” (Psa. 23:6)
We are all like sheep going astray and are lost. The Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd who has left His own house to find us and bring us back to where we are supposed to be, the house of the Lord. When we always have the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives we will finally arrive at our destination in our spiritual journey. We will be in the house of the Lord and dwell there forever. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psa. 23:6)