BROADCASTS.com

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

Without question, Psalm 23 lingers in a post Christian culture. While most people in North America do not read the Bible, this psalm is remembered.

There is a story about two men at a banquet who recited Psalm 23. The first was a famous actor who knew how to hold people spellbound with a single word. He recited the psalm first and received a thunderous standing ovation.

The second was an old preacher whose voice was cracked with age. As he recited, people began checking their text massages and changing their Facebook statuses.

However, when he was finished the actor returned to the microphone and said, "The difference between this old man and me is that he knows the shepherd."

How many of us have not read through the shepherd psalm without really paying attention to the shepherd? How many have read it countless times never asking what the psalm professes? I encourage you to take time today to meditate on this psalm.

When I read it at funerals, I indicate that I read it for the living, not for the one who has died. It is a psalm for life, for living.

At some point in his life, David began to understand just how much like a shepherd God is. God's shepherding does not mean that everything will always be green pastures and quiet waters. With God as shepherd, we still pass through valleys that reek of death. But even there, God goes with us. That truth enables us to live with and for him as articulated in this paraphrase of the psalm, with images from the workplace.

"The Lord is my real boss and I shall not want. He gives me peace when chaos is all around me. He gently reminds me to pray before I speak and to do all things without murmuring and complaining. He reminds me that He is my Source and not my job. He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions that I might honour Him in everything I do.

"Even though I face absurd amounts of emails, system crashes, unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors and an aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning, I will not give up for He is with me!

His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through. He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me. He claims me as His own, even when the company threatens to let me go.

"His faithfulness and love are better than any bonus check. His retirement plan beats every RRSP there is! When it's all said and done, I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer and for that, I bless His Name" (Jeff Benham).

When Jesus claimed to be the ‘Good Shepherd’ (John 10:11), he was evoking all the images of Psalm 23. Do you know this Shepherd?