In 2019, I joined a group of 11 others in an attempt to summit Long’s Peak, a 14er (14,259’ elevation) mountain peak near Estes Park, Colorado. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, not having previously been a mountain climber and having had no idea how dangerous this summit really was. (Long’s Peak is Colorado’s deadliest peak where, on average, two people die each year attempting to reach the summit, having 58 total recorded deaths to date!) I can assure you that my wife and children had no idea how dangerous a mission I was embarking upon!
The only smart thing I did prior to the climb was to attempt to find an experienced guide for our group of 11. I put a few feelers out to see if we could find an affordable guide and actually ended up with three volunteer guides, all of whom had previously summited Long’s Peak. Unbeknownst to us, we really needed all three guides, as we soon found our group drifting apart over several miles during the trek. We embarked on the climb at 4 a.m. in the pitch black of night. The round trip journey covered 15 miles with a vertical climb of more than 5,000 feet (a 1-mile climb in total altitude) and took us a total of 12 hours!
As I look back on that grueling journey, it turned out to be an amazingly accurate analogy for the Christian life and Psalm 23! Our guides were actually our shepherds, if you will, who gently, wisely, carefully, and successfully guided us through an extremely dangerous path to arrive safely at our destination and then safely back home. Even though we did not think we really needed our guides before the climb, they were literally our lifesavers in the end!
Before we look at Psalm 23, let’s see what the New Testament has to say about shepherds and sheep.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and We are Wayward Sheep
In John 10, Jesus calls us his sheep and describes Himself as our Good Shepherd, saying, “‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).’”
Seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Isaiah foretold Jesus’ fulfillment of the words of John 10 when he said, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).”
No offense to the sheep, but sheep are known as dumb, wayward, senseless animals. And that is exactly who David (the former shepherd turned psalmist) compares us all to. Truth be told, the human race (myself very much included) is a very wayward bunch in desperate need of a Good Shepherd to guide us through the challenges and dangers of this life.
The Apostle Paul quoted the psalmist, Isaiah, and the author of Ecclesiastes when he described fallen humanity in these terms:
“‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’” –Romans 10:10b–12
We are all indeed wayward sheep, even the best of us, in need of a Good Shepherd! And the great news is that we have been given what we need in a Good Shepherd in Jesus Christ!
There are several profound lessons in this well-known and much-loved psalm, including a powerful list of the blessings that God offers each of us through our Good Shepherd in Psalm 23.
The Good Shepherd Provides for You
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” –Psalm 23:1–3a
God promises that we will lack nothing, that He will meet all of our needs, including our needs for:
- Nourishment (“green pastures”): This is the physical and spiritual food that we need to survive and thrive.
- Rest (“quiet waters”): This is the physical, emotional, and spiritual rest we need.
- Restoration (“refreshes my soul”): When we are burned out, at our wit’s end, discouraged, or depressed, God restores us.
I don’t know about you, but I need all three of these provisions on a regular basis! And they are freely available if we will draw near to God and allow Him to nourish, refresh, and restore us!
The Good Shepherd Guides You
“He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” –Psalm 23:3b
Not long after we began our climb of Long’s Peak, I learned a very important lesson, and that was that our guides knew what they were doing and where they were going, and we didn’t. Shortly thereafter, I started following the route up the massive boulders and sheer rock faces that our guides took. Not only did I observe and learn which way the guides went, but I also observed specifically how they ascended each route. Imitating their knowledge, their skills, and their techniques virtually guaranteed my success, even though I was a complete novice climber!
How often do you need wisdom, guidance, and direction in life? I don’t know about you, but I need God’s guidance every day of my life! As a result, I have engaged an executive coach, several mentors, and loads of confidants. They are all amazing and invaluable. But none of them compare with the wisdom and counsel I receive from the Good Shepherd, through His Word and through the Holy Spirit. As our Good Shepherd, God promises to guide us along right paths for His glory. The real question is, are we as willing to seek and follow His guidance as God is willing to freely and generously provide His guidance to us?
The Good Shepherd Protects You
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” –Psalm 23:4
God protects us with His presence, His power, and His discipline.
God’s Protective Presence
What is the darkest place you have even found yourself in as a result of trauma, death, depression, defeat, discouragement, or other sources of darkness that have invaded and interrupted your life? When we heard that our 10-year-old grandson had an inoperable brain tumor, my first thought was, “That kind of tragedy does not happen to our family, but only to other families!” When we lost a daughter to suicide less than two years later, I was in total denial and utter darkness. In Psalm 23:4, David does not promise us escape from the manifold sources of darkness of this world; rather, He promises to be with us in the darkness in order to allay our fears that evil will ultimately prevail. Though we lost Jackson at age 10 to cancer and Tiffany at age 41 to suicide, they both had publicly expressed a clear, strong faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. In the end, evil did not prevail, as we are absolutely confident that they are both safely with the Lord in Heaven today. God’s greatest provision for us is not His presents but His presence.
“But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge … .” –Psalm 73:28
God’s Protective Power
The shepherd’s rod was a defensive weapon carried by the shepherd to ward off attackers who were threatening the sheep. God is all-powerful, and therefore His infinite power is able to protect us from every imaginable threat and should therefore bring us comfort, hope, and courage.
God’s Protective Discipline
The shepherd’s staff was used to correct and protect the sheep when they took a wayward and dangerous path toward destruction in order to get them back on the right path for their own welfare.
The Good Shepherd Blesses You
The Lord blesses you with victory, honor, and devotion.
He Blesses You With Victory
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” –Psalm 23:5a
David shifts from the shepherd and sheep metaphor to a more personal, intimate description of his relationship with God as his Lord and King.
A table in the presence of enemies represents a victory celebration before our vanquished enemies. As four of our 11 climbers ascended to the summit of Long’s Peak after seven grueling hours of climbing, we literally sat down on the rock table of the summit and had a celebration feast of various delicious trail snacks and water. The thrill of victory was so sweet. In this case, our enemies were gravity, rocks, weather, and our own human frailty. But the four of us who made the summit were victorious and joyfully celebrated that victory while sitting on the mountaintop before the threat of inclement weather forced us to start our descent.
God our Shepherd promises us victory even in the presence of those who oppose us. Chief among our enemies are the world system, our own flesh, and Satan himself. God will deliver us from all of our enemies, whether human or spiritual, and we’ll celebrate His deliverance for all eternity.
He Blesses You With Honor
“You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” –Psalm 23:5b
Oil is a symbol of blessing and respect that God pours out upon you and me as an indication of His great love for us. An overflowing cup is a sign of blessing and prosperity given to someone who is being honored. In His great love for us, God, our Good Shepherd, graciously honors us as His children and literally pours out His countless blessings into our lives.
He Blesses You With Devotion
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” –Psalm 23:6
As kids, we used to play an awful game in which we would ditch an unwelcome associate who was always following us around. Here, the psalmist gives us the opposite picture—we are being literally chased by God, our Good Shepherd, who loves to perpetually pour out His goodness and love upon our lives and see to it that we are welcome in His heavenly home forever. We may often try to turn our backs on God and abandon Him, but He promises, “‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).’”
The Good Shepherd is with you to stay—forever—to provide, to guide, to protect, to bless, and ultimately to deliver you safely to your heavenly home!
There are many savage wolves nipping at all of our heels in this dark and overwhelmingly discouraging world in which we live. But Jesus promises us, “‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27–29).’”
What glorious promises from the Good Shepherd Himself: provision, guidance, protection, blessing, eternal life, and eternal security! All of these the Lord longs to graciously give to you and me as free gifts of His amazing grace!
East-West Devotionals
Dive deeper into a collection of encouraging stories and devotionals by East-West Founder John Maisel and other authors that will spur you on in gratitude, worship, and obedience.
