"I shall not want" - Psalm 23:1

Yesterday, God revealed Himself as a Shepherd to His people. This is the picture of Himself that He chose to give us. He wants us to think of Him in that way. That says a lot about God. It means that He is caring, loving, nurturing and protective. So, if God wants us to think about Him as our Shepherd, what does that say about you and me?

Well, we are the sheep in that picture. If you are not catching on, let me spell it out for you. Sheep have some good qualities, but let’s be real. Are you excited about that? Do you like being thought of as a sheep? I didn’t think so. It’s not exactly a flattering picture, is it? But, it is exactly what God says in these verses:

Psalms 100:3 "We are His people and the sheep of His pasture."

Jeremiah 50:6 "My people have been lost sheep"

Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray"

Get the picture? I can think of a lot of unflattering images of sheep, but God wants us to understand something here. We are lost and in need of help and there is very little we can do to fix things. He is trying to drive home to you the fact that sheep need a lot of help in life. We need a Shepherd.

So, God became our Shepherd. His solution for our problems was to roll up His sleeves and help us. That’s some great news! God is not only willing to do that but He is also ABLE! David wrote:

Psalms 37:25

“I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."

God is able to give us what we need. Notice that it does not say what we WANT. He helps us with our NEEDS.

What do you need most of all? Wants and needs are very different. What we NEED, says the Bible, is to be restored to God. When we understand God in those terms, we find that He, Our Shepherd, is what we needed all along.

With God as My Shepherd, I don't need anything else! Oh, wait. That’s the very first line of the greatest piece of literature ever written, isn’t it?