The Lord - My Shepherd

Do you know anyone who is doing it tough at the moment, a loved one, a friend – yourself?

Psalm 23

Some of life’s deepest lessons are learnt in the tough times as the almighty God tenderly, but with quiet strength, touches us very personally.

In tough times, I often do two things.

I think about God’s greatness. I am always awed when I look at photographs of space from telescopes and realise how many stars there are out there, even in what seem to my eyes to be black spots in the night sky. I am comforted by knowing that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is the One who made it all.

I also think about God’s very personal interest in me – in each of us. In this week’s sermon, we look at the best known Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 23, also known as the Shepherd’s Psalm. It is poetry that focuses in on God’s personal interest in each of us. The personal pronouns “I”, “me” and “my” occur 16 times in the 6 verses. David, the shepherd king, had a very personal relationship with God. While the foundations were laid when he was out caring for the sheep as a lad, inspired by the night sky and the world around him, much of this relationship was forged through the furnace of deep and dark trials. Some of life’s deepest lessons are learnt in the tough times as the almighty God tenderly, but with quiet strength, touches us very personally.

So, this week we can reflect on the needs of ourselves and others, and on the very personal way our loving Saviour relates to us, especially in the toughest of times.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything that I need.

Pastor John