Bible Verse of the Day Monday December 4th, 2023

Psalm 23:1-2 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

The similes of God's power, love, and grace always embrace "green pastures" and "quiet waters," even when we find the pastures and waters in the darkest valleys. The shepherd's calling is to encourage or impart and implant courage throughout their flock as they find themselves treading on precarious and sometimes hazardous terrain. When God instructed Moses to lead the Children of Israel to the Promised Land, he did not get behind them with a cattle prod. He gently walked in front of them, and the people followed along. This scenario is a beautiful example of the role of a good shepherd: to motivate and encourage people to move into places they might not go on their own. Charles Spurgeon once said: "We have all things and abound; not because I have a good store of money in the bank, not because I have skill and wit to win my bread, but because the Lord is my shepherd." Sheep are not known to be the brightest bulbs in the farmyard; they are defenseless and dependent on the shepherds. David is teaching us here in this Psalm that we, too, should depend on our shepherd, our Lord, and Savior Christ Jesus. 

 

Once, a junior Sunday School teacher asked a five-year-old girl to recite the 23rd Psalm. She stood before the class confidently and said: "The Lord is my shepherd, and that's all I need." Jesus has told us that He is the good shepherd and that his true sheep know and follow Him. (John 10:14-15). The Shepard will always lead his flock to where they can graze on the greenest grass and find the purest water. They do not just lead them to any field but to where they can find the best nutrients to sustain their lives. That is where our shepherd wants to lead us to the place of the utmost spiritual nutrition. He wants us to fully have life possible (John 10:10).

 

We live in such a fast-paced world today that can cause unrest and anxiety to occur in our every waking hour. Our shepherd wants to lead us to a place of quiet waters, where we can slow down, concentrate on what is most important in life, and bring about a peace that we cannot find through worldly methods. When the storm surges come, and the waters of our life are raging around us, our shepherd wants to lead us to quiet, still waters. As the old hymn says: turn your eyes up.