How Jesus Shepherds Your Life: Rediscover Psalm 23
Hey Friends,
Let us take a walk together and drink from the streams in this beloved Psalm 23 of David.
Because the Lord is your Shepherd, He oversees your life. If you are in Christ, you are under His care. You are not powerful enough to utterly destroy or derail your life.
He keeps you, even if He must break your arms or legs to do so.
He will make you lie down.
Jesus, our Shepherd, not only oversees your life He is also underneath it, leading, choosing, and guiding you.
Take comfort that you are not the “master chooser” or “director” of your life; the Lord is.
It is He who orders your steps.
Relax in God.
You do not determine the final outcomes of your life; your Shepherd does.
The Mechanics: How Does He Shepherd and Guide?
1. The Heart
The Lord guides through the desires of the heart, both good and bad.
Scripture makes it clear: “It is God who works in you to will (desire) and to do (act) for His good pleasure.”
He uses your godly desires as part of His shepherding, leading you in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
But even wrong or misguided desires can be used by the Lord to accomplish His purposes.
Consider Samson: his stubborn desire to take a Philistine wife opened the door for God’s judgment on the Philistines and became a means of discipline and growth for Samson himself.
Though that was not the ideal, the Lord remains sovereign in every situation.
Both the light and the dark within your heart are the same to Him—each at His wise disposal to lead you in righteousness and supply your needs.
2. External Situations
The Lord also shepherds you through your environment.
The people, circumstances, and events of your life, pleasant or painful, are instruments of His guidance and provision.
Be mindful not only of the movements and desires within your heart but also of how the Holy Spirit arranges your surroundings, the doors He closes and the ones He opens as well as the people He brings or sends away.
Look for harmony between your internal environment (your heart) and your external environment (your situation) to discern how the Shepherd’s rod may be guiding you.
3. Gifted People
Jesus also shepherds us through gifted people.
He shepherded the churches in Galatia through Paul and others, and the seven churches in Revelation through John.
Likewise, the Lord has placed gifted people among you in your church as expressions of His shepherding love. Allow yourself to be persuaded by those who lead among you and whose lives are worthy of imitation.
The Pain and Gain of Being Shepherded by Jesus
Both David (Psalm 23) and Jacob (Genesis 48:15) speak of God as their Shepherd.
Both men carried great promises, one to be king, the other to be a patriarch and both were led through the valley of the shadow of death, both internally and externally.
David endured deep family pain, sons who rebelled, and others who died. He was also hunted like an animal by King Saul. Jacob suffered betrayal by his brother Esau, deceit by his uncle Laban, and the loss of Rachel and Joseph.
Jesus always shepherds His people through the valley of the shadow of death, yet He always provides grass (His Word) and water (His Spirit) in that valley.
And when He brings you out, you emerge with a richness of spirit to bless others, just as Jesus told Peter:
“After you have returned, strengthen your brothers.”
After their valleys, Jacob blessed Pharaoh and prophesied over Joseph’s sons with keen insight.
David blessed Solomon with wisdom, building plans, and relationships that enabled the building of the temple.
If the Lord has made promises to you and He has the valley of the shadow of death will be part of the shepherding journey He takes you on.
Corporate Expression
Though our Shepherd knows each of us by name, no shepherd leads only one sheep. Shepherding is always corporate and community-based.
The Lord leads and guides us in relationship with others. His provision and direction often come through other sheep. His guidance is interwoven with the welfare and well-being of the flock.
He is the Shepherd of a people, not merely of individuals.
In this shared journey, the Lord shepherds us by giving revelation:
- A revelation of Himself — “I am the First and the Last” (Rev. 1:8)
- A revelation of who we are apart from Him — “No good thing dwells in me” (Rom. 7:18)
- A revelation of who we are in Him — “Seated with Him in heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6)
- A revelation of our calling’s practical outworking — “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church” (Eph. 5:25)
- A revelation of the world’s nature and how to live counter to it — “The rulers of this world lord it over them…but not so with you” (Matt. 20:25)
- A revelation of promised reward — “To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne” (Rev. 3:21)
Rest in His Care
Today, as you read this, pause for a moment and give thanks to God the Father for giving you Jesus Christ, the Eternal Shepherd of your soul.
Rest in His care.
