Psalm 23:1

I did not sleep well last night.  I finally got up at 4:30 this morning. Do you ever have that experience? I suspect that is common to all of us at some time or other.  Anyway I started thinking about Psalm 23 and only got to verse 1.  It says "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."  Words are important so let's examine these words.

"The Lord...".  The Psalmist identifies whom he is writing about.  It is THE Lord, that is singular, not one of many but the only Lord.  If He is the only Lord, He must be  the Supreme Being, and if so, and I believe  that is true, then He must be all powerful, knows everything about me, and can do anything He wants.  Wow!  Since He is the Lord, He is the Ruler and My relationship to Him is one of servant hood or slave.  That takes away the idea of "let's make a deal".  It is now subjection and my response to Him is "Yes, Lord", which brings in the whole idea of worship.  He alone is worthy of worship and I bow before Him and rejoice.

The next word is "is", not was, not shall be but is.  Always has been, is now, and always shall be.  That is a comforting thought.  I don't have to worry or wonder who will come after Him, but I know this is constant, He is and always will be The Lord.  Now I can concentrate on serving and worshipping Him.  Glory.

"The Lord is my...."  This word shows ownership.  I believe it declares I own Him as my Lord.  It also could mean He owns me and the next word indicates both are true.

The Lord is my shepherd.  What is a shepherd?  It is a caretaker, one who takes responsibility for another, in this case for me!  He is my protector, I need not fear others, He surrounds me with His love, His power.  Nothing and no one can get at me without His permission.  Note Job's experience.  His hedge of protection is perfect.  He is also my provider, He meets all of my needs.  The Shepherd loves those of whom He is their Shepherd.  I can rest in Him, and so I claim Him as my Shepherd."

The last phrase, "I shall not want", indicates His care for me is complete.  No worries, no fuss, no frustrations so long as I rest in His shepherding. 

 Lord deliver me from straying from your care for me by trying to solve the situations I face by my poor wisdom, understanding and power.  Your care for me is your responsibility and my responsibility is to submit to you and rest in you and all that you are.

Keep Looking Up for He cares for you.

Ron