prayer

Why A Shepherd?

brucehendrich Leave a comment

psalm-23-1-the-lord-is-my-shepherd

“The LORD is my shepherd…  So begins one of the most loved, and best known passages in all of the Bible.  True to the saying, “it takes one to know one,” Psalm 23 was written about 3,000 years ago by a shepherd who later became a king, David, son of Jesse of Bethlehem.

After David’s bold opening declaration, he makes three statements expressing his complete trust in the LORD as his shepherd.  “I shall not want” summarizes David’s confidence in the LORD’s ability to provide for his every need.  “I will fear no evil” demonstrates his trust in the LORD to protect him, even in the darkest days of his life.  “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever,” articulates David’s faith that even in death, his Shepherd will care for him throughout eternity!

This beautiful psalm not only talks about David’s Shepherd, it talks to his Shepherd as well!  In verses 2-3, David talks about all his Shepherd does for him and why.  In verse 4 the pronouns shift from “He” to “You” and David now speaks to his Shepherd in a written prayer.  David’s confidence in facing death is in his Shepherd’s presence and protection.  In verse 5 he speaks affectionately of the LORD’s gracious provisions, even in the presence of his enemies.  Finally, in verse 6 David concludes his thoughts by speaking about his Shepherd’s care “all the days of my life” and then even after his days come to an end and “forever” begins.

This poignant psalm is rich with word pictures!  It starts with a Shepherd, and his flock of sheep, one of whom is King David himself.  It pictures them lying down in green pastures and drinking from still waters.  It paints sheep following the Shepherd on paths of righteousness and through the valley of the shadow of death.  It draws comfort from a shepherd’s rod and his staff.  It portrays a bountiful banquet table prepared in the presence of enemies.  It visualizes the blessedness of an anointed head and a cup running over.  It concludes with the (obviously magnificent) house of the LORD in heaven.

This psalm is so rich I have assigned aspiring preachers the task of writing multiple messages from this psalm, each one focusing on a unique truth, promise, principle, viewpoint, illustration or challenge contained within it.  Though they would often complain about my assignment, invariably these students of God’s Word would fall deeper in love with Psalm 23 with each new message they wrote.

In my earlier years I wondered how a psalm with six verses and a little over one hundred words could be so special to so many people.  But over the last twenty years I have studied it, memorized it, preached it and have recited it in so many difficult occasions, and in countless places.  Its ability to move me and so many others is no longer mysterious!  After all, like King David, we too are sheep in desperate need of a trustworthy Shepherd!

A Promise

brucehendrich Leave a comment

promiseOfTheDay

They were desperate.  Their funds had been depleted and their hopes for keeping the ministry alive had been dashed.  They had prayed, but God had not answered.  What were they going to do?

Not surprisingly, they were heart-broken and despondent.  So much blood, sweat and tears had been poured into this ministry through many years, and by many servants of the Lord.  Evidently God’s blessing had been snatched away from them and their work.

So they began the process of shutting down the ministry.  Nevertheless, a few painful days later, they received the glorious news that a promise had been made from thousands of miles away, that their financial needs would be met in full by a stranger!  Needless to say their weeping was replaced with rejoicing!

Though the money would take several days to reach their account, they eagerly began to make preparations to reopen the ministry.  But even before the money arrived, a word from the Lord came.  One of the ministry leaders received a soul-searching revelation he was to share with the entire ministry team.

“Brothers, God has shown me that we have committed a grievous sin.  We prayed to God to meet our needs.  But when we didn’t see Him answer, we lost our faith and our joy.  Yet, just because a person thousands of miles away, a stranger we did not know, promised us the funds we needed, we rejoiced!  We believed the promise of a stranger, and we trusted him to be faithful to his word.  But a promise is only as good as the one who makes it.”

“Now then, we have a Heavenly Father and a Good Shepherd, who we know to be totally faithful and true.  He is no stranger to us, and He has on so many occasions provided for our every need.  And though He has made so many promises to us in His Word, He has never failed to keep even the smallest one of them.”

“How it grieves the gracious heart of our faithful Savior, that we would believe in and rejoice in the promise of a stranger from thousands of miles away, and yet not trust and rejoice in Him?  Has He not promised, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’?  Has He not proved Himself faithful countless times in that promise, ‘He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it’?  Surely the promises of God are infinitely more trustworthy than the promises of man!”

These leaders humbly received this word from the Lord and repented of their sins of unbelief.    Now, will this story compel me to do the same?  After all, His promises and His faithfulness always have, and always will prove worthy of regular and radical trust in Him!  A promise is as good as the One who makes it.