“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
My mind is never far from Psalm 23. It has meant so much to me as I have gone through all of the tough spots in my life. I have a whole series of studies/sermons based on this powerful psalm. As I read this first verse of Psalm 23, it spoke to me of our relationship with God. I see it as a word portrait drawn by David. Psalm 23:1 shows us some great things about our relationship with the Lord. It shows us the preeminence of the Lord in our relationship with Him. It says “the Lord is my shepherd.” A Lord is one who can tell you what to do and you have to do it – or should do it if you are wise. Paul dealt with this in relation to our Lord Jesus in Colossians 1:16-18: “For by Him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. 17. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (held together). 18. And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence (first place). Our relationship with our Lord is not an equal one. It shows us that our relationship with the Lord is positive – it is certain. “The Lord is my shepherd.” Psalm 23:1 does not tell us the Lord might be our shepherd. When we are one of His people through faith in Christ, we have a relationship with Him as our shepherd. In 1 John 5:13, John wrote of this certainty in our relationship with the Lord: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.” There is no such thing as a “maybe so” relationship with the Lord. It shows us that our relationship with the Lord is personal. “The Lord is my shepherd.” Cynical unbelievers like to make fun of those of us who say that we have a personal relationship with Jesus. I don’t know what they think is funny about it. I will take my personal relationship with Jesus over a personal relationship with absolutely nothing Jesus has invited us to come to Him in order for us to have a relationship with Him. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said: “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” That is certainly an invitation to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In this personal relationship, we have a claim on Jesus, but more importantly, He has a claim on us. . I think that you will agree that this is a good portrait of our relationship with the Lord. Bro.Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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