I Am In The Lord’s Care

 We are going to base this series on the verses in Psalm 23. This is the Golden Psalm known to all of every denomination. This portion can even be known as the Shepherds Psalm.

The background of this Psalms is, it is written by David and as a young boy he was a shepherd where he would take care of his flocks. This Psalm is written out of his experience as a Shepherd where he would tend to his sheep to ensure their safety from any harm. 

As he writes Psalm 23, he puts himself in the position of his sheep and the Lord the Father the Shepherd. From a revealed perspective, humans are like sheep that need constant attention from its Shepherd. The word sheep has been written several times in the Word to an extent to which its the most familiar biblical animal symbol. 

In fact in John 10:11, Jesus says, ‘“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’ 
Jesus equates his role as the Messiah with the job of a shepherd which was the most common occupation in Israel. Many prominent characters in the Bible were also shepherds. 

Genesis 4:2 says,
 ‘Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.’
 Abel was the keeper of sheep and this is the first profession written in the Bible. 

Jesus was born in Bethlehem where David the Shepherd boy was born. In fact there were a lot of grasslands in and around Jerusalem where Jesus’ great ancestor Ruth picked grains from, which is where years later David also tended his sheep. This is the same place where Jesus was born. When Jesus was born, it was the shepherds that were first informed of the news. Clearly, there is a lot of connection between Jesus and the symbol of a shepherd. 

Psalm 23
says, ‘A psalm of David.
 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 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. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 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.’ 

Today we will focus on the aspect of ‘I am in the Lord’s care’. 
The word Ra’ah used in the Hebrew translation means, ‘the Lord sees’. In the olden times, the Shepherds would climb over a slightly higher place so that they could oversee the sheep. When you say, the Lord is my shepherd, it means my Lord is watching over me from above. 

The term ‘Pastor’ also means the same, to tend their folks. We are not fully aware of what state David was in when he wrote this Psalms, whether he was a shepherd or a King?. Perhaps he was just the shepherd boy David who had needs and wants like all of us.

 In your life, right now, you might be in want. You might be in financial constraints and debt where many things are mere dreams, far from your grasp. This is when you should declare this verse ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing’. Don’t say out your reality, don’t call out things as you see them. But believe and proclaim that the ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing’. When you declare this, believe that things are turning around. 

Psalm 100:3 says,
 ‘Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.’
This analogy of the Lord being our shepherd and us being his sheep is used everywhere in the Bible. 

Isaiah 40:11 says,
 ‘He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.’
Just imagine our Father in heaven gathering us, the young lambs in faith in his arms and slowly and gently leading the mothers. What a beautiful Father we worship. How carefully he tends to us, cares for us knowing our every need. 

Matthew 9:36 says,
‘When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.’
Imagine sheep roaming around, without the guidance of a shepherd. They will walk around not knowing where to go and what to eat. For days they may not be well fed and satisfied. They could even be in harm's way. 

We are also like this. Without the guidance of our Lord, we could walk around aimless, helpless and not protected with trouble waiting around in every corner. This was the way of the world before our Messiah came down to save us. Many of us still live like this, leading a life without the guidance of a shepherd. The minute you accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you come under his care and protection. 

Ezekiel 34:11-31 says,
 ‘11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice. 17 “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet? 20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lordsays to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken. 25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing.[a] I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

The portion above also focuses on the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd which is a reflection of our relationship with God.