When Trials Come, We Remember Our Good & Great Shepherd – Part 1 Series

1. Well, the most common question I ask, & I hear in the midst of trials is WHY! -- Why this? Now? Me? Why him? WHY LORD?!!?!

• But I’ve noticed that God doesn’t always answer that question.

• He doesn’t always reveal the WHY, or explain the details.

• He simply calls us to trust… cling… hold on to Him.

2. AND Even though we don’t like them, we know that our Heavenly Father uses trials & testings to produce good things in our lives. (Perseverance, Character, Hope, Love)

• There is no way around them, no way to avoid them.

• Trials come to us all. Some last longer than others.

• Some are easier than others. Some are heavy.

• It seems like all we can do is just sigh when that word is used.

I’VE LEARNED, and I’M LEARNING that WHY isn’t the right Q to ask.

• Instead of ASKING WHY, we can ask the Father WHAT?

• What do You want me to learn about You through this Lord?

• What changes are you bringing about in my life Jesus?

• What people are you wanting me to reach through this?

You see, every single circumstance that comes to us is first sifted through the hand of the One who loves us.

• They are Father filtered before we ever see them.

SO THEN as time passes, the question changes from WHY to:

• What changes do you want to develop in me through this Lord?

• What weakness are you showing me?

• What areas of maturity are you growing in me?

NOW TODAY, I want to answer another question that pops up in the midst of trials; one that comes up time and time again.

• As a matter of fact, it’s a question that the enemy of our souls will often use against us to cause us to point the finger at God.

• WHO IS MY GOD & MY SHEPHERD?

YOU KNOW: When things go out of whack… we have a book.

• As believers we have a book. This book gives us reasonable and logical answers & conclusions to the things in our lives.

• He has revealed Himself to us and has used ordinary men with very ordinary lives with very ordinary circumstances.

David… the young shepherd boy… propelled to into the throne by God himself, sat down one day to pen this powerful psalm.

• Just 6 verses, 117 words – yet full of timeless truths.

• I often turn to Psalm 23, not just by memory, but in my Bible to walk me through the situations that come my way…

When did David right this Psalm? Many different theories.

#1 – Some say David wrote this psalm while on the run, in a rock refuge, sitting there meditating on His safe Shepherd.

#2 – Some say it was after the rebellion of his son Absalom, while he was wandering through a dusty desert place in his life.

#3 - Others suggest he wrote it while walking through the valley of Elah where He slayed Goliath, thinking back on God’s faithfulness.

I think personally, it was one of the first 2… why?

• Because God has meant so much to me at my moment of need!

• The times with my Father that are so powerful, so precious, are those times when I really needed Him the most.

• We’re not alone in the trials of life. ABBA FATHER… is there.

1. (v1) The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want.

a. It’s the LORD that’s my shepherd.

b. This is the Hebrew word YAHWEH, Jehovah.

c. The very essence of who God is.

NOTE: My name is Ed, or Edward for some.

• I’m a husband, a pastor, a friend. Those all describe what I do in my life, but my name describes my very essence. Who I am.

• There are many names that describe who God is, and what God is like throughout the Bible.

• Even in the Hebrew culture when you were given a name, it usually wasn’t at birth, but a few years later to find out what kind of kid you were, what your personality was.

When it came down to it, David says, My Shepherd is Yahweh! - That’s his heart… when I think of God, He’s my shepherd.

• You know what that makes you and me? Yes. SHEEP!

That’s funny… sheep. At least we should laugh…

• Sheep aren’t the smartest animals on the farm you know.

• Sheep tend to follow each other around, even over cliffs.

• And I think of all the dumb decisions I’ve made over the years because I was following the crowd & not the Lord. SHEEP…

I’m sure you’ve never heard of a sheep trainer have you? Nope.