CONSTANT CARE

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ” (Psalm 23:5)

In this passage we are once again reminded that the man or woman who has taken the LORD to be his or her shepherd will walk under God’s provision and His constant care.

Some interesting and uplifting thoughts are stirred up by this passage. First, God has pronounced a blessing upon those who have made Him the shepherd of their lives with such blessings as can only be described as a banquet. God has laid out a table for you and upon it there is everything that you need – your healing is there, along with blessings for your marriage, finances, success, breakthroughs and more. Whatever the need may be, the Lord has adequately made provisions for.

Second thing we notice, and this is so significant, is that God has not made a secrete of the blessings He bestows on His sheep. The bible teaches that, God who sees your faithfulness in secrete will bless you openly even “in the presence of your enemies”. God will satisfy your mouth with good things openly!

Furthermore, the Lord who has blessed you and received you into His banquet, has also anointed you and given you the grace to enjoy the full benefit of His abundant, “overflowing” blessings with gladness. And there is nothing man or the devil can do to stop God from blessing you.

May the Lord provide for you generously and keep you under His divine protection and favour now and always, praise God!

NEVER ALONE

"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." (Psalm 23:4, ESV)

One of the things a good shepherd does is keep his flock out of harm’s way. In trusting Jehovah as his shepherd, to guide him and lead him, David tells us here that he is not afraid of taking the next step in life even if that step takes him through a path that is overcast with a gloomy and bleak shadow like a death shadow.

Walking with the Lord means following His leading day and night and yielding to His guidance. He blesses those who are faithful in so doing with His protective presence so that they can confidently say:  “I will not be afraid for you are close by my side”.

The shepherd’s rod is a short club which the shepherd carries with him for the purpose of fighting off wild animals, thus symbolic of God’s protective presence. The shepherd’s staff is a long stick with a hook-shaped head used for pulling back a straying flock - symbolizes God’s guidance.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our good shepherd: He will never leave you nor forsake you. You are never alone and will never be alone in that thing that you are going through today. The Lord will go through it with you, His rod and His staff will comfort you.

The valley of the shadow of death holds no fear for the man or woman whose shepherd is the Lord!

MY SHEPHERD

 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

The 23rd psalm is one of the most beautiful, insightful and endearing portion of scriptures.  And here in the very first verse of the psalm starts with such a sublime statement that literally leaps at you, wraps around your heart lifting it up reassuringly.

As a young man, David was a shepherd before being anointed king of Israel. So when he says the Lord is “my Shepherd”, he speaks from experience and from the viewpoint of the sheep. David knows all too well how vulnerable a sheep is without a shepherd. And he knows the tender care that a good and faithful shepherd gives his flock. As Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).

From the passage we learn two important covenant realities: first, that the Lord is the believer’s shepherd, i.e., Jehovah-Rohi in Hebrew; and second, that the Lord is the believer’s provider, or Jehovah-Jireh. But what is more powerful and vital to our faith walk is to know the Lord not just as “our” shepherd, but as “my” personal shepherd to lead me, guide me, provide for me, and protect me!

The Lord who is “my shepherd” is Jehovah – the covenant-keeping , self-existent One who needs nothing but possesses everything, the I Am, the one who is here and never elsewhere or otherwise engaged! Knowing the Lord in a one-to-one personal relationship gives you the platform to say with confidence “I shall not want” of anything good and necessary to me because my God supplies all my need in due time (Psalm 84:11)!