“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want…He leads me…Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Ps 23:1, 6.
In this most famous Psalm, we have an astonishing promise. God tells us that as our loving Shepherd, we will never lack. Of course, He must be our Shepherd.
We can claim to have Him as our Shepherd, but if we are not led by Him, He is Shepherd to us in name only. He leads us in the life and the lifestyle that provides for all our needs. If we do not follow His leadership, we will suffer lack.
Most people desire to have the promises mentioned above. They want a ‘no-lack’ life, a life filled with goodness, love and mercy. However, they haven’t fully embraced the Shepherd. He gave us the example in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He prayed and said, “not my will but thine be done.”
Only when our will, is to do His will and we do His will are we being led by Him. We do His will in relationships. We do His will in service to others. We do His will in witness to the Lost. We do His will in forgiving others. We do His will in faithfulness. We do His will in loving His Bride. We do His will in honouring others. We do His will in submission to authority. We do His will in our speech. We do His will in relation to the poor. We do His will in worship and prayer.
The result of His Shepherding care is that we are blessed, joyful and live in His House with His people forever.