The Lord Is My Shepherd, And That's All I Know!

HoHum:

A gallop article on April 15, 2024 says that Americas are getting less sleep than they need. What is the problem? “What might be driving these downward trends in sleep? Research on health and wellness shows a strong connection between stress and sleep quality. According to the American Psychological Association, the relationship between sleep and stress goes both ways -- those who sleep less are more stressed, and those who are more stressed sleep less. Indeed, the new poll shows that 63% of those who report wanting more sleep say they frequently experience stress, compared with 31% of those who get the sleep they need. Over the past 30 years, the number of Americans who are stressed has been on a steady incline. The most recent data show that nearly half of all Americans, 49%, report frequently experiencing stress, up 16 points over the past two decades and the highest in Gallup’s trend to date.

WBTU:

Need to chill out but how? It is important to deal with our stress now rather than later. Our well being depends on it. Psalm 23 provides us with a tremendous blueprint for reducing stress.

Thesis: In this psalm David outlines 7 stress busting habits that will make us happier and healthier (from Rick Warren).

For instances:

1. Depend on God to meet our needs- Psalm 23:1

On what or whom do we depend? It’s easy to put our trust in other people to meet our needs- our spouse, the church, friends, work associates, and so on. This can be a constant source of stress. We should never base our security on something that can be taken away from us. When we realize God will meet every one of our needs, it calms us down. He will never disappoint. He is always faithful. A Sunday school class was memorizing Psalm 23 and little Tommy couldn’t get beyond the first verse. On the big day he stepped up to the microphone, grinned at the audience and announced, “The Lord is my shepherd, and that’s all I know!”

What did David know about being a shepherd? He was one from a young age. Psalm 78:70-72: He (God) chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

Even though David had intimate knowledge of being a shepherd, in this Psalm, he is speaking as one of the sheep, one of the flock. David is saying, “Look at who my shepherd is- my owner- my manager! It is the Lord.”

Jesus referred to himself this way. John 10:14-15: I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father —and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Raymond has goats but sheep are more dependent on a shepherd than goats are to a goat herder. Sheep do not “just take care of themselves.” They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care. Be thankful that in the Lord’s flock. Philip Keller was a shepherd and he writes this: In memory I can still see one of the sheep ranches in our district which was operated by a tenant sheepman. He ought never to have been allowed to keep sheep. His stock were always thin, weak and riddled with eases or parasites. Again and again they would come and stand at the fence staring blankly through the woven wire at the green lush pastures which my flock enjoyed. Had they been able to speak I am sure they would have said, “Oh, to be set free from this awful owner!” This is a picture which has never left my memory. It is a picture of pathetic people the world over who have not known what it is to belong to the Good Shepherd… who suffer instead under sin and Satan.

Immediately after WW2, the Allied armies gathered up many hungry, homeless children and placed them in large camps. There the children were abundantly fed and cared for. However, at night they did not sleep well. They seemed restless and afraid. Finally, a psychologist hit on a solution. After the children were put to bed, they each received a slice of bread to hold. If they wanted more to eat, more was provided, but this particular slice of bread was not to be eaten- it was just to hold. The slice of bread produced marvelous results. The children would go to sleep, subconsciously feeling they would have something to eat tomorrow. That assurance gave the children a calm and peaceful rest. David gives us something to hold onto here.