My Shepherd

Psalm 23

No matter what I achieve in life, one thing remains: I seek rest—a peacefulness that steadies my heart; joy that makes me hope for the impossible and believe that I will see it; and a God who will share with me his secrets about his will for my life that my flesh could never interpret. Truth be told, my flesh fights with my spirit daily. It tells me about its own secrets picked through piles of information scattered around my society. Litter is what it is; and everyone has their idea of truth. It’s a love/hate relationship. I despise the lies because I’d rather not bother with the scuffle; on the other hand, I love the worship that it evokes. Of course, it did not intend to bring me to my knees, but that’s exactly what transpired. Satan lies because he hopes to kill me (a spiritual death), but God’s truth is so powerful once inhaled I can’t help but live.

With great hope in the Lord and in his comfort and protection, David poetically poured out his heart to God in the 23^rd chapter of Psalm. He spoke the truth and revealed what he truly believed about God. He declared that the Lord was his shepherd, and though some of us may not fully understand the importance of a shepherd to sheep, we can conclude that a shepherd is synonymous with a guide. David was announcing to his audience that without God he did not know which way was right or wrong. He could not make a sound decision about which way he should go. He could not sustain himself or withstand this world without a God who he could rely on. David depended on God to steer him in the right direction and trusted that wherever he was led, it would be peaceful.

David found the peace that we daydream about. So often, we equate peace to wealth. Seems true—money makes you powerful in our society and people tend to show you more respect—but don’t believe the hype. Because just as sure as Lil’ Kim was about money, power, and respect is all we need in life, one of her closest friends was rapping about more money, more problems. The chaos creeps in through these small but powerful lies. We pick up the litter and place it on a mantle in our homes. We are so proud of what our wealth has afforded us and defeated by what the lack thereof could not heal.

The gift in this peace that David found was new life—a life of freedom. God gave him a peace that took him from broken to fixed. His soul was restored after being hated and hunted for death. We know this kind of feeling. The feelings that come from a broken heart after loving someone so sincerely, the rock bottom from crack pipes and alcohol abuse, and loneliness after losing someone who meant the world to you. We all know pain, but we are not all bound to brokenness. Contrary, our shepherd restores souls. He is a healer from the spirit to the flesh. There is a promise from Christ that the peace he gives is nothing like the world’s broken promises (John 14:27). His peace calms the troubled heart. His peace restores souls.

After new life comes righteousness—a goodness that we were never able to achieve, no matter how strong we are and regardless of how weak we once were. For God’s sake, he cleanses our hearts of the filth and litter we picked up along the way. He is not persuaded by our decisions to gather the waste; rather, he is overjoyed by our decisions to let go—to walk through life fearlessly as though we are well aware that we were wonderfully made by a wise creator who knew exactly what he would create through us. (Psalm 139:14) He knew the vision that we would write down plainly and wait patiently to see. (Habakkuk 2:2-3) All along, he waits for us to receive the vision after the dust clears and his righteousness overcomes whatever it was that tried to destroy us.

So what is the truth anyway? The truth is that we are holy as he is holy through his redeeming power. (1 Peter 1:16) And nothing can separate us from God’s love at any time. His love is infinite. His grace, mercy, and love follow us for the rest of our lives. With a promise like this, we can look forward to his glory every day as we choose him back. Just as David did, I decree and declare that we are living and breathing in a peace that can only be found in the love of God, fearlessly thriving and succeeding through his grace (undeserved favor), and anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit to be visionaries who await the manifestation of the promise—all along, guided by the Good Shepherd. The truth is that we are free by the true and living word of God. (John 8:32)

Think higher.

Ri