[The Lord Is My Shepherd]
[A PSALM OF DAVID.]
[23:1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
[3] He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
[4] Even 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.
[5] You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
[6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
(Psalm 23 ESV)
When we are faced with trails in life, when the stresses get to us, I'm sure I'm not alone in running from God rather than to him, of drowning in my circumstances rather than looking up and out. I can feel overwhelmed and automatically try to handle things myself, feeling ashamed of the sin that overwhelms, ashamed that I can't trust and rejoice in Jesus as I ought in the situation. I know however much of the situation is out of my control, I am to blame for my hopeless outlook, so I hide.
But in this Psalm, we are reminded that The Lord is our shepherd. Jesus is the one who loves and cares for his sheep, and not just when they are grazing in the field safely where they should be, but he is the shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the 1 who has gone astray and he rejoices when he finds the sheep (Luke 15) and the Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11).
He is the shepherd who provides all we need. He is the shepherd who brings us peace and comfort and the shepherd who is so good that he can be trusted even in the most desperate situations.
The Psalm suddenly changes in v5 from talking about a shepherd and his sheep to the host of a banquet and his guest. And surrounded by our enemies, we eat with the Lord himself.
This shepherd Lord who cares so deeply and so completely for us welcomes us to eat with him in the here and now, to have fellowship with him. I find it a massive encouragement that the Lord prepares the table for us in the presence of our enemies. Rather than spoil the party, they are watching helplessly as the Lord prepares the feast for us. In the hard times, when spending time with Jesus is difficult, when we feel that our enemies, whether they be people or situations, are overwhelming us, come to him remembering that he is the Good Shepherd and that it is him preparing the feast for us. We can look out at enemies at peace- we are with Jesus, who is with us, comforting us. There we see them for what they really are- impotent and helpless. What can they do to us?!
Let's delight in Jesus in exam time just as much as the rest of life.
