Shepherd of my Soul

Introduction The Lord is my Shepherd…Psalm 23:1 F or us to get a clear understanding of this verse, let’s see the meaning of the keyword shepherd. We can define a shepherd in these ways: “Someone who looks after a sheep or a sheepfold” or “Someone who is in charge of guiding or directing people as if he were leading sheep.” From the above definitions, we can conclude that a shepherd is one who looks after, cares for, guides, guards, delivers, protects, leads, and supplies the needs of the sheep. He caters for the sheep. It is important for us to note that each time Jesus referred to sheep, He meant His people. So a shepherd is someone who determines the direction of the sheep. He decides for, leads, and directs the sheep to achieve his aim (God’s purpose). David was the writer of the Twenty third Psalm. He had come to a point where he understood The Lord to be his Shepherd, his leader, his decision maker, and his director. As the sheep’s upkeep is the shepherd’s responsibility, our upkeep is God’s responsibility. He carries our every need and worry. A Sheep doesn’t need to bother about where it will graze or how it will go about it. It just follows the direction of the shepherd. As you read the remaining verses of this psalm, you’ll see how much David had come to know and understand God’s Shepherd-hood to him. David was a man who had the revelation of God. Remember what he told King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:34–37 when he was about to face Goliath, 34 And David said to Saul, your servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote it, delivered it out of its mouth: and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and smote it, and slew it. 36 Your servant slew both the Lion and the bear and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. 37David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the Lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine... - 1st Samuel 17:34 – 37. If you read the entire account, you will see how David confronted Goliath, the enemy with a particular mind-set. You will discover that David was talking as one who knew his God, and indeed the enemy was overthrown. He had an experiential knowledge of God. He had fought and killed a bear that had tried to steal his father’s sheep. He had fought and killed a lion that had tried to devour his father’s sheep. And he defeated the giant, Goliath of Gath, the Philistine who had undermined the armies of Israel (the Lord’s sheep). David understood the role of a shepherd to the sheep because he was a shepherd boy, and it was from this knowledge, experience, and mind-set, he spoke the words, “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want”(Psalm 23:1). It is important to note that the Lord we are talking about here is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The mighty one in battle! The Lord who significantly changed the economy of a particular nation, Israel, in less than twenty-four hours. The Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. If you know Him as your shepherd, you have nothing at stake to lose. Arise and declare this: “The Lord is my shepherd; therefore, He perfects all that concerns me. I have everything I need. He orders my going out and coming in.” What is the challenging circumstance you are going through right now? Just wake up, arise, and declare what you want to see with a divine consciousness, “The Lord is my shepherd, therefore _____________” (declare what you want to see about that situation according to His Word). Don’t stay in that negative situation wondering, thinking, or saying, “Maybe I am just a victim of this circumstance” or pity-partying or cowering. Instead, arise to the shepherd-hood of God, and declare His Word, which is the true position concerning your challenging situation. We are Winners! We are Victors! All because the Lord is our shepherd!