The Lord is My Shepherd

Friends, the one thing I want to clearly communicate to you today is that God has been so good to me! I can look back and see how the hand of God has graciously moved on my behalf. Some who know the health issues I have been facing may question the truth of what I am saying, but when I look back on my life thus far, there is no doubt that I can attest to the goodness of my God. So, today I will sing of the goodness of God.

I can identify with King David as he sings this song of praise in Psalms 23. There is no doubt in my mind that I am one of God’s sheep and Jesus is my Shepherd?

Psalms 23:1, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Are you in want for anything this morning? We live in a world of discontentment. People always “want” something. Jason Lehman wrote a poem that says it this way:

It was spring. But it was summer I wanted - The warm days, & the great outdoors.

It was summer. But it was fall I wanted - The colorful leaves, & the cool, dry air.

It was fall. But it was winter I wanted - The beautiful snow, & the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter. But it was spring I wanted - The warmth, & the blossoming of nature.

I was a child. But it was adulthood I wanted - The freedom, & the respect.

I was 20. But it was 30 I wanted - To be mature, & sophisticated.

I was middle-aged. But it was 20 I wanted - The youth, & the free spirit.

I was retired. But it was middle-age I wanted - The presence of mind, without limitations

Then my life was over, and I never got what I wanted.

People always want what they don’t have. It seems like we are never satisfied with anything for very long. But this isn’t the “want” that David wasn’t talking about. The “want” that he is talking about in the 23rd Psalm was not what he could go out and get for himself, but those things that he needs that can only come from God.

You can work hard, earn your money and then go out and buy possessions. You can buy food, clothing, cars, and homes or just about anything you need. It may not be the top of the line or the cream of the crop, but it is enough to meet your need. But money can’t buy health, it can’t buy life itself, it can’t buy peace, it can’t buy satisfaction, and it can’t buy real love. Money can’t buy the things we want most.

As we follow the Great Shepherd, it is His responsibility to supply our wants.

Psalms 23:2, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."

Most of us, as individual “sheep” in the Lord’s house are lying in some truly green pastures. It’s so easy to just slip into that comfort zone and become satisfied. Why move when everything seems so good right where we are?

But let me tell you a few things about sheep. Sheep are dumb animals when you get down to it. Unless their shepherd makes them move on, sheep will ruin a pasture, eating every blade of grass, until finally a fertile pasture is nothing but barren soil. Sheep are near-sighted, stubborn, and easily frightened. An entire flock can be stampeded by a jack rabbit. They have little means of defense. They’re timid, feeble creatures. Their only recourse is to run if no shepherd is there to protect them. Sheep have no homing instincts. A dog, horse, cat, or a bird can find its way home, but when a sheep gets lost, it’s a goner unless someone rescues it.

I don’t know about you, but for the last year, since I quit riding and have no dedicated ministry, I’ve felt that I had hit a real dry spell in ministry. While I knew that God’s anointing was still with me, and I knew that transitioning to something new was the will of God, it just seemed that something was missing. I can see now that all I was doing was devouring the blessings but not giving much back. I had even lost the fire to preach. I used to miss the pulpit when I faced seasons where I didn’t preach much, but that yearning to stir the anointing was missing. Do you know what happens to a sheep that isn’t productive? Have you ever heard of Lamb Chops?

So, what did Jesus, The Shepherd, do to get me moving again? He began to “stir the waters”. Things began to transpire in my life that would take me out of the green pastures and out of my comfort zone. I hope and pray that I never have to be stirred in this manner again. I pray that His Word remains a fire in my bones, and I cannot contain it – I am there again and I am thankful because I feel the blessing of His pleasure, I feel the stirring of His anointing, and I am eager to fulfill His calling again.

Psalms 23:3, "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."

That’s what God has been doing all along. He saved me, filled me with the Holy Ghost, gave me faith, helped me to trust in Him, and then He began to lead me in paths of righteousness that I had never walked before. God is expanding my vision, pushing me toward a new horizon, and leading me into doing things and going places that I have never been before.

The past 13 months have been some of the most faith-building, and trust-building times that I have ever faced. True enough, there have been a few times when doubt or frustration may have tried to arise, times where depression began to overtake me and I even prayed for my life in this world to be over, but through the power of the Holy Ghost, and the overwhelming presence of God, they were overcome.

There were times when I wondered if I had missed God. There were times when I even wondered if I was going to continue ministry at all. But God is faithful, I am still here, and I might add, stronger in my walk than I have ever been. I have been through the fire, my life refined to be able to bring honor and glory to Jesus.

The storm doesn’t appear to have ended yet, but I have peace during the storm. And now I believe that the storm is subsiding. I believe that Jesus has said, “Peace be still” and I can sense that the winds of adversity are lessening and the waves that seemed to be so tall are coming down. The storm is nearly over. Just a few more breezes; a few more waves; and I will see smooth seas once again. Not that all will be perfect, but I will be in those green pastures once again.\

Psalms 23:4, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

I feel that I have literally walked through the valley of the shadow of death: a serious motorcycle accident, severe illness, and most recently a stroke. In the dark days when I was confused as to why all this was going on, what would happen next, or where God would take me from here, I was in the valley. When I looked at my circumstances, I thought more than a few times, “God, I can’t survive this much longer. Yet all the while, the Shepherd was leading. He has a vision of where I was going, even if I couldn’t fully see. Despite the devil’s attempts, I remain faithful.

Psalms 23:5-6, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."

I can certainly identify with David here. It wasn’t the enemies of men that I faced, but spiritual enemies from the supernatural realms. Satan’s attacks on my mind were very real. His intentions were to destroy me. He wanted to send me scattering in fear and stop the preaching of God’s Word – BUT HE HAS FAILED!

Amid the battle, God sent me a wonderful man of God who encourages me and prays for me. He sent people, brothers and sisters from my church, brothers who were not from my church, and he used them to supply my every need, emotional, physical, and spiritual. I could never thank them enough.

After everything that has happened in the past year, I can surely say that “Goodness” and “Mercy” has followed me, and will continue to follow me into the future.

I came across a song this week, ‘The Goodness of God’, and it brought me to tears as I realized what the Holy Ghost was reminding me of through the words of a song:

I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never failed me
All my days, I've been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
And in darkest night You are close like no other
I've known You as a Father
I've known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God, yeah!

And all my life You have been faithful, ohh
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God, yeah!

'Cause Your goodness is running after, it's running after me
Your goodness is running after, it's running after me
With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now
I give You everything
'Cause Your goodness is running after, it's running after me, oh-ohh
'Cause Your goodness is running after, it's running after me
Your goodness is running after, it's running after me
With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now
I give You everything
'Cause Your goodness is running after, it keeps running after me

And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God
I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna sing
'Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God.