My Shepherd
July 15, 2012
Psalm 23
I heard about a man who hated his wife's cat. He wanted to get rid of it, but she wouldn't let him. Finally, he decided he had enough! So, he put the cat in his car and drove to the other side of town, let the cat out, and drove home with a smile. As he pulled into his driveway, there was the cat walking up the driveway. He couldn’t believe it.
The next day, he put the cat back in the car and drove ten miles away. He let the cat out, then sped back as fast as he could. As he pulled into the driveway, there was the cat yawning and walking in the house.
He was furious! So, the next day he put the cat in the car and drove way out in the country. He drove down some dirt roads with no street signs and found the deepest part of the woods and he dropped the cat off. He was certain he succeeded in his mission.
A few hours later, the man called his wife at home and asked her, "Honey is the cat there?" The wife answered, "Yes, why do you ask?" The furious and frustrated man said, "put her on the phone, I'm lost and I need directions."
Cats can find their way home! Dogs can find their way home, people usually can find their way home, but sheep can’t!
On their own sheep become easily lost. If they turn their head for a moment, or if they lose track of where they are going, they end up going in the wrong direction. Sheep are easily led astray. They're needy, defenseless, and nervous. That's why we have the picture in the New Testament of leaving the 99 to go and get the one who was lost.
Maybe that's why there are so many comparisons to people and sheep in the Bible. We can easily lose our way, and then we need divine intervention from the Good Shepherd to get us back on track.
I remember a Fox sports special on the life of Mike Tyson. During the interview, Tyson said he looks forward to his next life and hopes he will then find joy and peace. Isn’t that a sad statement. Especially, from a man who had it all. I don’t want to wait for the next life, I want to experience it now. Tyson could have been the greatest and wealthiest boxer in history, but now he’s a has-been, trying to make it in Vegas. He believes death will bring him peace. I have bad news for Mike Tyson, unless he comes to meet the Shepherd, his present life will look like a bed of roses.
We’ve been focusing on the most famous of all Psalms, Psalm 23. Last week we finished verse 1. It’s a crucial verse for us to hold onto. Remember, the Lord, my Lord, and your Lord, is our Lord and Shepherd. He is a personal God, who wants to be in relationship with us. He will always be our Shepherd, so long as we are willing to be His sheep.
So today I want to look at verses 2 and 3.
Verse 2 tells us, our Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures, He leads us beside quiet waters, He restores our soul.
It sounds great, but what does it really mean?
The shepherd leads his sheep to a lush pasture where they have plenty to eat and their stomachs are full. The sheep are so satisfied, that they don’t have any other desires. The sheep are so content, they lie down in green pastures.
In his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller wrote, sheep need 4 things in order to lie down.
1. They have to be full. A hungry sheep stays on their feet searching for another bite of food.
2. They must be unafraid. They will not lie down if they’re fearful. The least suspicion of wolves, bears or loud noises, and they stand - - - ready to flee.
3. They must be content. If flies or fleas are bothering them they will not lie down. They must be comfortable before they’ll lie down.
4. And, sheep will not lie down unless there is harmony in the flock. If there is friction over the butting order, then they simply cannot relax and lie down.
That’s part of the job a the Shepherd. And part of the job of our Shepherd is no different. Once in a while, God makes us lie down, doesn’t He? We rush around, trying to meet this engagement and fulfill that obligation. And in our hurry, we miss the things that are most important. So once in a while God has to say, "You need to lie down." God has many different ways to help us lie down. Sometimes it’s an illness, or heartbreak, or accident, or His Spirit powerfully reminds us, a friend reminds us, we grieve a loss. These and more make us stop and reevaluate our lives.
When I worked at the rehab hospital, so many patients would comment that their accident, or even their surgery, was providential. They believed it was God’s way of telling them they needed to slow down, and experience more of the joy of life.
The shepherd must see to it that his flock is free from any disturbances. Sheep are very easily frightened. A stray jackrabbit jumping out from behind a bush can send the flock into a stampede. When one startled sheep starts to run, all of the others follow in blind fear. But nothing quiets a flock of sheep like seeing their shepherd in the field with them.
Like sheep, we can also be easily frightened. We live in an uncertain world. Any hour can bring disaster. And generally, it’s the unknown and the unexpected that frightens us most. But nothing quiets our souls like knowing that our Shepherd is near. Suddenly things aren’t as bad or as terrifying. Our Lord, our Shepherd is with us. Paul wrote, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (I Timothy 1:7). We shouldn’t be walking around in fear, filled with anxiety, because God has already promised He would be with us, and He would empower us through His love. That’s a great promise and we see that lived out in the life of the Shepherd.
When David says, “He makes us lie down in GREEN PASTURES, in Hebrew this means “tender new green grass.” What vegetables are best tasting? The young tender veggies. And for the sheep, tender, fresh grass is best.
And the word “makes” means, “to cause me to lie down.” What does this picture?
God creates circumstances. The green grass looks so good the sheep want to lie down. A parent feeds and rocks their in order to help them become comfortable and to lie down and sleep.
God doesn’t force us to lie down, instead He makes the grass so inviting that we cannot say no.
And then God leads us beside quiet or still waters.
I’ve seen lots of big animals swim, and sheep are no exception. Most sheep can swim, young sheep often have more difficulty, but sheep generally don’t like to take a dip in a river or lake. If they enter fast moving water, they will drown. If they are in deep water for a period of time, their wool will become too heavy and they can drown. So the shepherd leads the sheep to quiet, still waters.
Think about the times that you have sought rest for your spirit. If you were sitting beside racing rapids or if you were watching fast moving rivers and streams, it would be hard to close your eyes and find rest for your soul. But after we’ve eaten and become relaxed, then we can sit or lay beside those quiet waters and find rest for our weary souls.
How often are we able to relax our whole being. To stop and just experience the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. How often do we simply, and profoundly, bask in His peace and rest?
During these times we can experience the voice of God as He whispers His love to you. I remember those old days when I would read to Joshua and Zachary, I would get relaxed in a chair and before I knew it, I was falling asleep, repeating the same pages, making up new words, and they would be waking me up to keep reading. Why does this happen? My whole being is relaxed. That’s how the Lord wants us to be as well. . . calm, relaxed, not anxious or worried, resting in His presence.
Remember, the Lord doesn’t drive the sheep, He doesn’t point and say go, instead the Lord knows the way, He goes first and He faces the danger first, He takes us to the water, to the streams where we find living water, water that will quench our parched spirits.
One other point regarding the still and quiet waters. In Hebrew this can also be translated as He leads me beside waters of rest. Isn’t that cool? God leads us to that very place which is going to bring us rest. He knows it, it’s not a surprise to God, maybe to us it is, but God knows where that place is. We just have to give up the controls and allow God to lead us to that place of rest.
Look at the first 3 verses of Psalm 23, as paraphrased in The Message. God, my Shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in plush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.
God knows our weaknesses. He leads us by still waters. And He promises to protect us.
As we move toward the end of this message, let me add this about verse 3 ~
The Lord restores our soul. I love the meaning of this. It literally can mean “the Lord helps us turn back our soul, or that we return our soul.” It sounds strange, but how often do we remember those days when our souls were refreshed and vibrant and we long for those days. Notice the inference is that our souls are in need of refreshment, so the Lord helps us to turn back and return to those old days when we experienced His refreshment.
In all this heat we’ve been enduring, we’ve gotten hot and needed a drink and you know what makes that drink so great ~ it’s the fact that we remember what it was like at other times when our throats were parched and dry and in need of a cold drink. In the same way, the Lord helps us return to that time when we’ve experienced the joy of His presence.
Let’s look at the last part of verse 3,
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His names sake.
We are a lot like sheep. We prefer to follow our own ways. Isaiah said, "we are all like sheep who have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way." (53:6)
And so we need a shepherd who can lead us in paths of righteousness, and our Lord does just that. Notice that our shepherd is not a driver but a leader. He doesn’t stand behind us telling us to do what He wouldn’t do. He goes ahead and leads the way for us. "For to this you were called, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow his steps." (1 Peter 2:21).
Our Lord leads and he always leads us in the paths of righteousness. The original Hebrew tells us that righteous paths could easily be translated as right paths, which means there are wrong paths. But know that our Shepherd will never lead us into wrong paths, we do that on our own.
When we think of paths, it means ‘well worn paths.’ It’s as if the path has already been set for you. It’s like walking through the snow after many other people have already started a path that now makes it much easier to walk through the snow. This is what God does for us, if only we would open the eyes of our heart to listen to Him. When you walk through a forest, you often find well worn paths, so we follow them, again this is just what God has done for us. He has paved the way so that if we desire to follow Him, we will never stray from the right path.
And know that we do it for His name’s sake. It is for His glory, not ours. It is never for us, it is always for God and about God.
The name of God represents the reputation of God. Therefore, you can depend on God to do what He promises. God has put His name on us. We are children of Christ, He is our Father, He is Yahweh, showing us His most personal name.
When you put your name on your work, you are indicating your workmanship. It’s like holding a Stradivarius. In the same way, God puts His name on us.
