T WO SHORT STATEMENTS. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Let’s look at those for a moment. The Lord is my shepherd. This is the foundational statement for the first four verses of this affirmation poem. If the Lord is our shepherd, then … the psalm offers us comfort and peace.
Shepherding was, and still is to a certain extent, a very common occupation for those in the Middle East. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were shepherds. Moses was a shepherd. And of course David. The land in that part of the world lends itself to raising sheep. There is scarcity of grass and less than abundant sources of water. Sheep are moved from one area to another with relative ease and require less water than other domestic animals.
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THE SHEPHERD IMAGERY of God carries over from the Old Testament to Jesus in the New. In the Old Testament, God has words of strong rebuke and warning for bad shepherds, and prophecies of a good shepherd that is to come.
Ezekiel compares the political leaders as bad shepherds slaughtering their sheep for their own gain rather than feeding them. Three times Ezekiel mentions that the sheep are scattered, lost, prey for every beast and had no one to search or seek them.
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IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, Jesus identifies himself as the Good Shepherd. The Bible sketches out in great detail what a good shepherd looks like. The focus of a good shepherd is on his flock — their provision, guidance and safety.
The good shepherd provides nourishment and refreshment, safety and protection for his sheep. Isaiah points out the shepherd’s care for the most helpless of the flock — the newborn and the nursing mothers with young.
In Jesus’ description of Himself, the good shepherd is sacrificial. He is willing to ignore his own needs in order to meet the needs of the sheep. Over and over, he states, the good shepherd gives his own life for his sheep.
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PERHAPS WE CAN SAY “The Lord is my Good Shepherd” because the good shepherd shows great concern for his sheep.
● The good shepherd provides for them nourishment and rest.
● The good shepherd guides them, leading the way.
● The good shepherd is intimately involved with the flock and concerned for the safety
of each individual.
● The good shepherd is willing to sacrifice his own comfort, even his own life, for the sake
of his sheep.
The Lord is my (good) Shepherd. If we genuinely and in the marrow of our being believe that God is with us, then the only logical consequence would be, “I shall not want.” I need no other protector. I am put at ease, safe in God’s care.
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THINK, FOR A MOMENT, about how powerful “wanting” is in our culture. More than ever, our economy is powered by our collective nights out to dinner, trips to the grocery store, shopping sprees. And to make that all work we are encouraged to want. To want more stuff, to want nicer stuff, to want lots of stuff, to want a different experience. Our whole life is about wanting: I want, I shop, and when I have it, I want more. I shall want; I shall always want.
The Hebrew original is perhaps better translated, “I shall lack nothing,” What do I lack? in the sense of “What really matters that I do not have?” What, at the hour of death, would I dare not need? The answer isn’t iPhones or vacation houses. Jesus spoke with the rich young ruler, who claimed to be good, and had plenty of stuff. What did Jesus say? “One thing you still lack.”
We don’t lack lots of things: we lack just one. The one thing we lack is intimacy with God. The one and only thing that can cause us to say, “I shall not want,” or “I lack no good thing,” is God. Nothing else. Just the Lord, who is a good shepherd to his sheep.
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GOD IS OUR SATISFACTION. God alone is enough.
This opening verse of Psalm 23 is a simple, singular affirmation: The Lord is my shepherd and provides all I need. This poem challenges the cultural assumption that the path to happiness is paved with gift cards. This poem invites us to trust in God. Confident and content. Lacking nothing because since the Lord is my Good Shepherd, I have everything I need.
— Keith Cardwell
