The LORD is my Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-2

Sheep need green pastures because the grass is their food. As sheep eat the grass, the grass gets shorter. As time flows, sheep will be getting harder to eat from short grass and become hungry and tired. So shepherd regularly needs to take sheep to new green pastures where the grass is long enough so that sheep can eat them with ease. If the grass is long, it not only is easy to eat but also provides a good cushion to lie down on them.

Higher ground has more grass and freshwater. So shepherd needs to take the sheep to higher land. It is hard for the sheep to follow the shepherd to go higher ground of the mountain. It may be steep. It may be far. But the shepherd knows that there are better grass and water over there.

Sheep are stubborn animals. In the middle of the way to the higher ground, sheep may insist not to go further. Also, when sheep feel thirsty and find water on the ground, sheep may insist to drink from it. But sheep do not know it is deadly. Dirty water on the ground has many harmful and deadly bacteria that make sheep seriously sick or dead. So the shepherd forces the sheep not to drink from the dirty water and drag them to the higher ground.

Sheep are short-sighted animals. So the sheep get lost without the guidance of the shepherd. It may walk far away in the wrong direction. So shepherd may walk far to look for it here and there, find it and take it back to where it should be. Sheep would be content with what they have nearby. Only the shepherd can see far away and know there are wonderful green pastures and fresh waters on the hill and guide them there.

Sheep falls down and is flipped upside down easily and cannot get up by itself. Shepherd needs to raise it up otherwise sheep cannot get up by themselves and could die in that condition.

Once they arrive at the higher ground of the mountain, the shepherd needs to pour out waters from the river so that the sheep can drink from it. Now how much water the sheep can drink totally depends on how much water the shepherd draws out from the river. Now we have Jesus as our shepherd. And we are His sheep. He knows what is best for us. If we continue to follow Jesus, we will see the best plan he has for each of us to come to reality.  

# Read "Shepherd looks at Psalm 23" by Phillip Keller