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TOPIC 7: PSALM 23 - The Lord is my Shepherd
Reflections on Psalm 23 and the pastoral words of Jesus
1. The Lord is my Shepherd

The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep


PSALM 23:2
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

The fundamental forces in a person's life are hunger and thirst. Both are stronger than sexual desire, ambition, the intoxication of wealth, enjoyment of pastime activities or fashion-hunting. David had experienced hunger and thirst frequently. He had been on the run for many years, persecuted by the demon-possessed King Saul, who hated David's anointing to be the next King and who desired to kill him. David had spared Saul, who also had been anointed by God to be King, but then had to flee into enemy territory to live there - despised, exploited, poor, stigmatized and in constant danger.

But in spite of all hunger and thirst, it was here that he really met his Lord - the good Shepherd, who protected him in persecution and exile and who provided for him. David did not starve or die of thirst, nor did his comrades. Gods' provision saved all the worshiping men. The grace of the Lord remained upon them. The good Shepherd led them to places of refreshment and relaxation, and gave them bread and fresh water. They were depending on Him to lead them, for without Him they could no longer exist. They realized the Lord cared for them like a shepherd cares for his flock. He keeps looking for the best grazing grounds for them. Bedouins often hike long distances until they find good pasture for their herds, with enough water. David came to understand his Lord more and more because of his own pastoral experience.

Have you ever suffered thirst during fierce heat? Your skin dries out. All moisture evaporates. The air is shimmering and makes you see mirages; your lips become brittle and crack. What grace it is when you then hear a voice in the deadly desert, calling you and leading you to an oasis. Some that go astray simply throw themselves into the water, drinking not only with their mouth, but also with their skin.

Do you hunger for God's Word? An infant cries incessantly when he is hungry and can only be calmed by his mother giving her breast to him to drink. Do you hunger for God's word? Do you long to hear the will of your Creator inside of you, and to then act accordingly? "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4.4). Jesus said of himself: "This is my food, that I do the will of the One who sent me" (John 4.34). Every normal person has a longing for God. His heart requires knowledge of eternal truth. Whoever does not regularly read God's word and meditate on it in his heart, perishes spiritually. Spiritual malnutrition is a sign of our technical scientific era, along with its insolent pride to think, plan and do everything without God.

But you and I - we need God more than we need our daily bread! Without God our soul degenerates and dies. Spiritually dead people with extinguished faces are rushing through the streets. They are marked by sin, agitation, anxiety and inner emptiness. They do not hear the voice of the good Shepherd.

But if you read God's Word, you will be fed. Whoever learns to memorize parts of the Gospel, who cherishes it and obeys it, can be compared to a man dying of thirst whom is given the offer to drink abundantly of fresh, pure, cool water. He drinks and drinks and cannot get enough. He is revived and refreshed. He becomes a normal person again. He again can breathe freely, receives strength and begins life anew.

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