Psalms 23: The Lord Is My Shepherd ( Motivational)
this Psalm Psalm 23 probably the most
popular Psalm in the Bible certainly the
most quoted Psalm in the bible and quite
likely the most quoted passage in all of
scriptures Psalm 23 even non-believers
use Psalm 23 when they have funerals you
hear it all the time the Lord is my
shepherd I shall not want he makes me to
lie down in green pastures he leads me
beside the still waters he restores my
soul he leads me in the paths of
righteousness for his name’s sake 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 you prepare a table
before me in the presence of mine
enemies you anoint my head with oil my
cup runs over
surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever
Psalm 23 has been called the pearl of
the Psalms a nightingale singing in the
world’s night of loneliness and Mead and
the thing that amazes me is that Psalm
23 was pinned over 3,000 years ago think
of that over 3,000 years ago David
penned this Psalm and yet it is as fresh
and as relevant and as comforting as it
was the day that David penned these
marvelous words and I love the imagery
that the psalmist uses that David uses
because he himself was a shepherd and he
says the Lord is my shepherd and and
then Jesus picks up the same picture
picks up the same imagery in the
scriptures when he says this look at
what he said in John chapter 10 he said
I am The Good Shepherd
and my sheep listen to my voice I know
them and they follow me
I give them eternal life and they shall
never perish and no one can snatch them
out of my hand
the Bible says nothing can ever separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
he says no one can ever separate them
can ever snatch them out of my hand
and Jesus our Good Shepherd also
restores our souls look at what he said
in Matthew chapter 11 he said come to me
all of you who are weary and burdened
and I’ll give you rest take my yoke upon
you and learn from me for I am gentle
and humble in heart and you will find
rest you’ll find rest for your souls
anybody here today need rest for your
soul yeah he says come to me you who are
weary and burdened let me ask you
something what are you weary of what are
you burdened with when you follow the
Shepherd he leads you in the right path
the path that he wants you to take he
says I will lead you in the righteous
path I will lead you in the path that is
best for you the path that I have marked
out for you the path that is good
pleasing and perfect just for you he
says if you follow me I will lead you
down that path but be aware that
sometimes that path the righteous path
sometimes that path does lead straight
into the valley of the shadow of death
David says as I follow the Shepherd he
says this look again in verse 4 he says
even though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death I will fear no evil
because you’re with me
your rod and your staff they comfort me
he doesn’t say even if I should possibly
maybe somehow stumble into the valley of
the shadow of death he says even though
because it is inevitable it’s inevitable
when you’re following the shepherd
sometimes that’s where he leads but he
leads us there because there’s something
he wants to teach us there’s something
he wants to actually restore in our
lives and we don’t have to be afraid
when we walked through the valley of the
shadow of death we don’t have to be
afraid because the shepherd is with us
David says even though I walked through
that valley
he says you’re with me notice how in the
beginning of the psalm he’s talking
about God the Lord is my shepherd but
now when he gets into the the time of
darkness and distress he’s talking
directly to the Lord he says I don’t
have to be afraid because you’re with me
and you’re the one who comforts me you
see your Shepherd is not waiting for you
on the other side of your trouble I
don’t know what kind of trouble you’re
in
I asked you a moment ago if you’re
burdened with something if you’re weary
with something maybe you are facing the
valley of the shadow of death the
Shepherd is not waiting for you on the
other side well you try to figure it out
and find your way through
he says you’re with me your rod and your
staff they comfort me I love the word
comfort in the Old Testament the word
comfort in the Old Testament means he
sighs with your sighing there’s an old
English word it’s he compassionate he
compassion ‘it’s with you he enters into
your pain not just to feel sorry for you
he enters into our pain to restore us to
strengthen us to lead us through he
makes away in the darkness he guides us
he protects us when we’re in the
darkness and he guides and protects us
with his presence and with his power
comforting us entering into our pain
compassionating with us he says even in
the valley of the shadow of death there
is a righteous path that’s the hardest
time to stay on that path because that’s
when you want to panic that’s when you
want to question that’s when you want to
doubt but there’s a righteous path even
when you go through dark valleys and
frightening fearful times because I’m
following the Shepherd and the Shepherd
says I’m with you whatever it is you’re
facing follow me and we’ll get through
this together our Good Shepherd provides
he protects he comforts he leads us he
feeds us he renews us he restores us he
gives us our life back he gives us room
to breathe and Jesus says again to us he
says I’m the Good Shepherd so come to me
come to me if you’re weary and burdened
and I’ll restore your soul I will give
you rest and let me ask you in your
moment of Prayer what are you carrying
with you today what are you worried
about
what’s weighing on you
take a moment and tell the Lord about
just telling what it is telling the
details
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all I want you to understand the day
is that as a child of God it doesn’t
matter what you’re going through
it doesn’t matter how many ill winds are
blowing in your life you have the
promise of God that you are never alone
now that promise doesn’t mean very much
when it comes from human lips but when
you have the promise from the Lord
you have to remember what Balaam says
there in numbers God is not a man that
he should lie not the son of man that he
should repent because if God said it he
is going to bring it to pass it doesn’t
matter how hopeless it seemed how
impossible it seems God cannot lie and
it doesn’t matter what you are in that
this is a day when it seems as though
everybody takes the position that’s
though you know I’m cast aside and what
I’m going through I’m going through it
by myself and nobody cares and and so
many folk today they’re living
frustrated lives rich folk that’ll only
the young folk who have hardly gotten
started in life
and yet they feel pressures upon them
and that pressures tall’s them to
believe that nobody knows and nobody
cares but I’m here to tell you that it
does not matter what you are in what you
are going through no matter how many
human ears have been closed how many
human bats have been turned whatever you
are going through if you belong to him
I just wish you tell somebody know you
are never alone and walking through the
valley of the shadow of death he said
yet I will fear no evil for you are with
me you’ve heard that beautiful little
story of the footprints how did a person
when they got to heaven the Lord let
them look back upon their life the
footprints of their life and the
experiences that they went through and
they noted that there was double
footprints two-sentence through all of
those great and glorious times but there
were those places in the path of life
where there were only a single set of
footprints
those difficult times those those
extremely hazardous times there was only
a single set of footprints and they said
Lord how is it that you were walking
with me all through the good the happy
the successful times but when the chips
were ready down it looks like you
deserted me because there’s only one set
of footprints and the Lord responded
there was only one set of footprints
because they are mine and in those
difficult places I carried you through
when we come to the valley of the shadow
of death I think that’s one of those
places in life where when you look back
you’ll only see a single set of
footprints as the Lord picks us up to
carry us through
and so David concludes but the Lord is
my shepherd as my guide and as my host
certainly goodness and mercy are going
to follow me all the days of my life I
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mean here they are like a couple of
pound dogs at my heels goodness and
mercy everywhere I go
God’s goodness God’s mercy following me
all the days of my life but what then
when the days of my life have come to an
end when God says it is finished what
then
I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever
God becomes my eternal host I shall
dwell in the house of the Lord forever
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in the glorious light of his presence
no wonder the 23rd psalm
has become
the most popular passage of Scripture in
the Bible has brought comfort and strain
than hope to so many millions of people
because it is so wonderful to know God
as a shepherd as a guide
and as my eternal host
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if you don’t know God in that capacity I
feel sorry for you
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