I. Shall Not. Want.

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

Look at those faces! They reflect no want, no worry, no anxiety. These sheep seem to know experientially what we read last week—the good Shepherd gives rest, food, water, protection, comfort, guidance, and overflowing blessings.

Our deterrent to sheep-like is peace is our humanity.

When I reflect on Psalm 23 I must admit, I actually do want. I want things, pleasures, friends, experiences, love, respect. You can fill in your own specifics: a newer car, a longer vacation, success on your job, rewards for your efforts, a soulmate, an addition on your house.

An alternate translation of “I shall not want” reads, “I lack nothing.” Again, nothing? Our human nature is challenged by unbridled desires, by confusing want with need, by living in America, by easy credit and next day deliveries.

Let’s try another translation: “I will not be in need.” Though I feel needy, I am not in need. I can decide to rebuff my wants. I can reflect on the blessings cited above and trust my Shepherd. How foolish I am to not choose contentment and enjoy God’s peace! I can agree with yet another wording, “I lack nothing.” That is a truth I cannot argue with.

Friends, it’s all a matter of focus. Are we looking up or around? Are we savoring our blessings or responding to envy’s lure?  Will we count our blessings or watch our neighbors?

May our trust increase, our gratitude fill our hearts, and our devotion fix our eyes on our loving, caring Shepherd. When we do, we will confidently say with the psalmist, “I shall not want.”

Photo by Sally Teschon

Finding Hope, 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart

My Shepherd

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

The Lord is . . . my Shepherd. We don’t need to be sheep herders to understand the role and responsibility of a shepherd. We’ve all heard about the shepherds “watching their flocks by night” when they were informed of Jesus’ birth and have read His words in John 10, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

A shepherd who knows his sheep understands their needs and temperaments, their proclivity to wander and their need for care and guidance. Our Shepherd knows that and more, after all, He created us. Psalm 23 describes ways our Shepherd cares for us:

  • He makes us rest
  • He leads us to water for refreshment
  • He guides us to the best paths
  • He protects us with His rod
  • He comforts us with His staff
  • He feeds us
  • He anoints us as His
  • He blesses us to overflowing

The consistency and tenderness of God’s shepherding care shows us His love. But He is more than a shepherd.

He is my Shepherd. Mine!

This is deeply personal and worthy of meditation.

I invite you to lie in your bed tonight and savor each of the first five words of Psalm 23. Drift off to sleep delighting in The. Lord. Is. My. Shepherd.

Photo by Sally Teschon

Finding Hope, 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart

The. Lord. Is.

~ Barbara ~ 2 Comments

The Lord is. Have you stopped to consider the significance of that 2-letter word? For one, it is present tense. Of course the Lord also was and will be, but sometimes those tenses are easier to accept than the present. Sometimes it is only by faith that we sense and believe that God is, and is active and alive in our lives. That’s where selah comes in. Pause and calmly think “The Lord is.” Let that truth soak through your fears and unrest.

He is—He exists, breaths, continues, endures, thrives, subsists—He lives. He is ever-present and always attentive to us, actively interested in our hopes and desires, disappointments and pain. Look at the picture of the shepherd who is watching a sheep wander away and let these words from Psalm 23 take hold. The shepherd—and the Shepherd—is alert to every sheep in his flock.

The Lord is my Shepherd—He feeds me, protects me, and gives me rest for my body and soul. Nothing I feel or fear changes the fact that the Lord is. That truth is more reliable than my emotions or despair, more trustworthy than any dangers and doubts I face.

Whether I struggle with hardships or watch the trials of friends or dismay over news reports, the fact remains: The Lord is.

Photo by Sally Teschon

Finding Hope, 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart

I Have a Shepherd

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

I suspect Psalm 23 may be the best known of all psalms. Often read at funerals, it wraps around us like a familiar, cozy afghan. But the comfort it’s designed to give goes far deeper. Like the stitches woven to create our favorite blanket, the psalmist wove words to cover us with far-reaching assurances. It deserves a deeper look and meditative understanding. Over the coming weeks we will do just that. Get ready to nestle yourself under its covering.

“The Lord is my Shepherd.” Lord is understood as one who has power and authority over others, a ruler to whom allegiance and service is due. In the best case scenario, such a lord would be benevolent, caring for those under his leadership. In the Christian’s case, our Lord is that and more, so much more. Our Lord is a shepherd who lovingly tends to the needs of His people—but we’ll discuss Shepherd later.

Submitting to the care of a lord can offer peace or anxiety, depending on his goodness and our trust. The Lord spoken of in Psalm 23 is good and reliable. We will see that as we progress through the psalm, but at this point we simply need to recognize Him as Lord and, more than that, “The Lord.”

He is above all others, preeminent and unsurpassed. There is no authority that can challenge Him—important to remember in our troubling times. He has the ultimate power, the highest purpose, the perfect plan, the final say. He is The Lord of all lords.

When you read Psalm 23:1, savor these first two words—no lovingly crafted afghan can compare to the comfort found there.

Photo by Sally Teschon

Finding Hope, 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart by Barbara Higby