Strengthened by the Shepherd
Psalm 23 describes how God shepherds people
Psalm 23:1 KJV:
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Expanded version of Psalm 23:1-2:
The Lord will shepherd me, and I will not be lacking in anything. I will not perish, suffer damage, be needy, be injured, or harmed. He will settle me in the meadows of strength, earth, of green pastures. And He will guide me to quiet waters, waters of quietness.
One of the things about quietness is that it provides us with strength.
Why does the Word call people sheep? Among the reasons is that they tend to wander off and focus on their own grass, blissfully unaware of what’s ahead.
One parallel between people and sheep is that both are dependent on the shepherd.
The idea of shepherding is so much bigger for us because God has given us Christ in us. He’s given us His Spirit. And we can be dependent on Him via that.
Ephesians 3:16 NLT:
I [Paul] pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
We cannot have the kind of strength we need in our lives outside of having the Spirit of God.
Philippians 4:13 APNT:
I find strength for everythingin Christ who strengthens me.
We have to find this kind of strength. It’s built into the Spirit that we have, but in order to live it out in our lives with confidence, assurance, and joy, we must find the strength in Christ who strengthens us.
1 Peter 5:10 NLT:
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
YouTube 10,000 Reasons:
1 Peter 5:10 KJV:
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
How do we get strengthened? The Hebrew word is chazaq, and it means to be made firm. I think of pouring cement into a form. As it cures, it gets harder.
How are we strengthened?
He gives us answers to our needs.
When we go to God with our need, it’s His giving us the answers that strengthens us.
When the Amalekites burned Ziklag, stole everything, and captured all the women and children, David and his men returned and saw what had happened.
1 Samuel 30:3–6 ESV:
3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
Here is how David got strengthened:
1 Samuel 30:7–8 ESV:
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.”
David asked very specific questions of God. Should a go after them, and will I win?
If you read the story, you see that they got so much spoil from the Amalekites that David distributed it among the places where he and his men had stayed.
The word picture of the word for “prayer” means “to seek the shepherding of the strong one.”
We should be asking God very specific questions and listening for His answer. God will not withhold an answer. Can you see how that strengthens us?
Psalm 23:3 from Aramaic:
He converts my soul and leads me on paths of truth [or paths of righteousness] for His name’s sake.
The shepherd, by way of the Spirit, leads us from in front. He leads, not pushes.
YouTube Love Moved First:
God is the one who always moves first, and that’s why we can follow him.
John 10:3–4 ESV:
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
Remember the record in Acts where God gives Peter a vision of unclean animals and tells him to rise, kill, and eat. Peter was shocked. God does this three times.
Acts 10:13–16 APNT:
13 And a voice came to him that said, “Simon, rise up, kill and eat.”
14 And Simon said, “Let it not be so, my Lord, because I have nevereaten anything that is corrupt and unclean.”
15 And again a second time, a voice came to him, “That which God has cleansed, do not regard as corrupt.”
16 And this happened three times and the garment was lifted up to heaven.
Peter had to think about the vision. It takes him a while to understand it.
Acts 10:28, 34 APNT:
28 And he said to them, “You know that it is not lawful for a Judean man to associate with an alien man who is not [of] his race, yet God showed me that I should not say about anyone that he is unclean or corrupt.
34 And Simon opened his mouth and said, “In truth, I perceive that God is not a respecter of persons,
God leads us gradually. We don’t know every detail before we start. We are strengthened by the shepherd as we walk, as we follow him.
Psalm 23:4 NLT:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
When the sheep know that they have green pastures to lie down in, they drop down and settle. We have a tendency to continue talking, even when we are lying down and trying to rest. We have to stop talking about the problem, to be quiet.
If we believe that the shepherd will protect us from the predators around us, then we won’t be talking about them. Instead, we’ll be talking about how great the shepherd is.
2 Thessalonians 3:1–3 APNT:
1 For now, our brothers, pray [seek the shepherding] for us that the word of our Lord may run [its course] and be glorified in every place as [it is] with you
2 and that we may be delivered from evil and dishonest men, for not everyone has faith.
3 But the lord is faithful, who will keep you and rescue you from the Evil [one].
It is not our prayers that cause the deliverance; it’s God, the almighty one.
Psalm 23:4 NLT:
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
One of the uses for the shepherd’s rod was to separate the fleece to closely examine the sheep for sores, ticks, and so on. He used the rod to look into the health of the sheep. That’s one of the reasons that the rod is comforting to us.
Sometimes I’ve been fascinated to see how a shepherd will actually hold his staff against the side of some sheep that is special or favorite, simply so that they are in touch. They will walk along this way almost as though it were hand in hand. The sheep obviously enjoyed this special attention from the shepherd, and revels in the close, personal, intimate contact between them. To be treated in this special way by the shepherd is to know comfort in a deep dimension. It’s a delightful and moving picture.
You can see how thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
The personal presence of God in Christ in us comforts us.
Sometimes, when you pray, you can substitute “in the name of Jesus Christ” with “in the name of the shepherd.” And when we pray, we shouldn’t be looking at the problem; we should be facing the shepherd.
Romans 8:26–27 APNT:
26 So also, the Spirit aids our weakness, for we do not know what is right to pray for. But the Spirit prays on our behalf with groans that are not describable.
27 Now he who searches the hearts knows what is the thinking of the Spirit that prays on behalf of the holy [ones] according to the will of God.
Psalm 27:8, 14 ESV:
8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” …
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Hebrews 13:20–21 KJV:
20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
As the shepherd does His work, we are matured, strengthened, settled, made firm like concrete; we have a firm foundation. We don’t have to be talking about everything, but we can rest assured, as His rod and His staff are comforting us and encouraging us. And He will absolutely never leave us or forsake us.
Psalm 23:6 NLT:
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved.
See Also:
The Shepherd’s Outfit by George Mackie
From the Acts Now Fellowship website:
I Love you O Lord My Strength audio teaching
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