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Psalm 23:1-3

This Psalm is known by many and is a favorite among most. However, the very same people who have memorized and claimed that this is their favorite Psalm either do not understand or have no faith in what the words tell us. So why don’t we examine just a few lines of this favorite Psalm and see if our faith can be enlarged/stretched and gain understanding so that we may live in what our beloved King David shared with us?

The LORD is my Shepherd. Okay, let us take a look at the responsibilities of a Shepherd.

1. A good shepherd will feed, guide, and protect the lambs and sheep. Lambs and sheep never lack, need, or want because they have everything that is needed.

The Good Shepherd will cause us to rest.

2. A good shepherd will have the lambs and sheep to rest. A good shepherd will lead the lambs and sheep where the waters are calm, not boisterous because he knows that lambs and sheep are timid creatures and noisy raging waters will frighten them. Lambs are quiet and gentle creatures.

The Good Shepherd will refresh and restore our weary souls. And will guide us on the paths of righteousness in HIS name.

3. Lastly, a good shepherd in the home will make sure that the family will rest together through various types of short or long family trips. We all need to get away from our environment because if we do not we will always find projects that we either need to accomplish or will accomplish. Or people may visit and our mindset may not be hospitable, yet, we hopefully will be kind throughout the visitation. Another way a shepherd will make sure that the family gets the proper rest is by turning off all the electronics and spending time together having dinner together, communicating as a family unit, playing games together, or watching a movie or television show together.

• Finally, a good shepherd will guide the family in a godly way. Good shepherds will always instruct not only through verbalization but also through demonstration. It is important that the shepherd practices what they want to teach those who are in the home. In my day, the saying among adults was “do as I do not as I say”. But this is not how humans learn, we learn through verbalization, written instructions, and demonstration. Demonstration however ranks number one because people are always watching what is being done. So, if people are left to their own, most likely they will do what they have seen in the home that is unsavory such as drinking, drugging, profanity, sexual immorality, disrespectfulness, abuse, manipulation, and more. But when there is a good shepherd who refreshes, restores, and renews the family through properly loving the family, providing quality time with the family, protecting the family, doing things that will cause the family to rest together, and feeding the family natural and spiritual food not for his name sake but in the name of JESUS. Then we will see the demonstration of our favorite Psalm in action.

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