The Lord is MY Shepherd

* * Happy Wednesday Friends! Ms. Gloria is away this week, so I ask you all to bear with me as I attempt to fill in for her! Don't worry - Lord willing, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program next week! * * 

Shepherd: a person who tends sheep; a pastor (a spiritual overseer)
Surely: with assurance, confidently; without doubt, certainly 

How many times have you said/rehearsed the 23rd Psalms?? Any "regular" church-goer has probably recited this at least a 100 times; but how many of those times have you ever stopped and really thought about what you were saying?

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Do you know what it means to be a Shepherd? A Shepherd is a person who looks after and tends to the needs of the sheep in his flock. He protects them from danger and makes sure that they are where they need to be, when they need to be there. As your shepherd, The Lord is looking after you and making sure that all of your needs are met.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

As your Shepherd, He allows you to get your natural and spiritual bellies fed with the good stuff -- not the dried-up, used-up fields that won't fill us up and keep us properly nourished. Oh no, we get to graze and rest within the hearty green pastures. And He makes sure that there are plenty of times of peace and calm (still waters) in our lives.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even when we feel beat down and broken, He restores our soul -- He fills us with His grace and peace and He makes us whole again. Like that spiritual GPS we talked about back in June, He's always guiding us along the path of righteousness to our ultimate destination (by His side).

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Even when we've sunk to what feels like the lowest of the lows and it seems like death is shadowing us, He's right there... and if we will just believe and follow him without question (much like those sheep faithfully follow their Shepherd) we will have no reason to fear -- just ask Ms. Gloria - she's a living testimony! He is with us and He will use His rod and His staff to fend off any evils that try to attack His flock - be that illness, depression, or anything else that might try to come after us.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

In the natural, most of us tend to watch our backs around our enemies... and our so-called "frienemies" as well! As sheep are cautious of coyotes and foxes; we have to be cautious of anyone who tries to steer us from The Lord. How awesome is the Shepherd that prepares a table for us right smack-dab in the middle of those enemies?! There's no need to watch our backs when our spiritual Shepherd has anointed us with His holy oil and is watching our backs for us!

On top of that - our Shepherd is here to make sure that our cups are running over. Take a quick minute to visualize that -- a cup that's so full that the contents inside are literally spilling out -- talk about having more than you need, right? That can and will be you - if you will just have faith and keep believing. You might feel like the brokest of the broke right now financially-speaking, but stand strong, flock and keep following your Shepherd... sometimes it takes a little while to prepare a table! After all, we'll wait <somewhat> patiently for hours for a table at a nice restaurant. Can't we be patient enough to wait for The Lord's perfect time? I truly hope so, because this table and that overflowing cup are certainly well worth the wait!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

This verse is one of those verses that really brings things home for me personally. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."  Not "possibly," and not "maybe," no, the Word says SURELY -- our definition tells us that means without doubt or certainly -- goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. The next time the world seems against you, rehearse that - "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life"- and say it until you believe it, because if your Shepherd is with you, who can be against you??

So stay true to your Shepherd and He will stay true to you... and He will dwell within and around you for ever!

With all that said, let the church say amen... and AMEN!