More Than An Occupation

When I think about a shepherd, I used to think about an occupation.

A person who takes care of sheep.

Someone whose responsibility is to make sure the sheep are fed, protected, guided, and cared for.

But the more I read Psalm 23, the more I realize that being a shepherd is more than an occupation.

It is a responsibility.

It is a commitment.

It is a relationship between the one who leads and the one who follows.

And when David said,

“Yahuah is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
— Psalm 23:1

He wasn’t simply giving Yahuah a title.

He was declaring who Yahuah was to him.

My Shepherd.

And if Yahuah is my Shepherd, then I have to understand what that actually means.

He Leads Me

A shepherd doesn’t expect sheep to figure out the entire journey on their own.

The shepherd leads.

That means I don’t have to know every turn before I take the first step.

I don’t have to know what tomorrow will bring.

I don’t have to understand every season I’m walking through.

I only have to trust the One who is leading me.

How often do we become anxious because we want to know where we’re going before we’re willing to follow?

We want the complete plan.

We want the answers.

We want to know how everything will work out.

But perhaps the Shepherd doesn’t always reveal the entire path.

Perhaps He reveals the next step.

He Provides

David said,

“I shall not want.”

This doesn’t mean that I will never experience a season of need.

It doesn’t mean I’ll never be uncertain.

It doesn’t mean everything I want will automatically be given to me.

It means I can trust my Shepherd to know what I truly need.

Sheep don’t provide their own pasture.

They depend on their shepherd to lead them to it.

And sometimes I think I’ve been trying to be both the sheep and the shepherd.

Trying to figure everything out.

Trying to make everything happen.

Trying to protect myself from every possible outcome.

Trying to make sure I never experience lack.

But that’s not my responsibility.

I have a Shepherd.

He Gives Me Rest

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures…”

There’s something beautiful about the Shepherd knowing when the sheep need to rest.

Sometimes we think moving constantly means we’re making progress.

But the Shepherd knows when it’s time to stop.

When it’s time to breathe.

When it’s time to be still.

When it’s time to let Him take care of what we cannot.

Maybe rest isn’t always a sign that nothing is happening.

Maybe sometimes rest is part of the leading.

He Refreshes Me

“He leadeth me beside the still waters.”

The Shepherd doesn’t only care about where the sheep are going.

He cares about what they need along the way.

Still waters.

A place to drink.

A place to be refreshed.

And that reminds me that Yahuah cares about more than what I accomplish.

He cares about me.

My soul.

My heart.

My peace.

My ability to keep going.

He Restores Me

“He restoreth my soul…”

This may be one of the most beautiful parts of the entire Psalm.

Because sometimes the sheep isn’t lost geographically.

Sometimes the sheep is simply wounded.

Tired.

Afraid.

Exhausted.

Broken.

And the Shepherd knows.

He doesn’t say, “Keep moving.”

He restores.

There are things that only Yahuah can restore because they were damaged in places other people cannot reach.

Things I may not even know how to explain.

Things I have carried for years.

And yet the Shepherd knows exactly where the wound is.

He Corrects My Direction

“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

The Shepherd doesn’t simply lead me wherever I want to go.

He leads me in the right path.

And sometimes the right path isn’t the path I would have chosen.

Sometimes following Yahuah means admitting:

“I wanted this, but maybe this isn’t where You are leading me.”

That’s difficult.

Especially when I’ve prayed for something.

Especially when I’ve hoped for something.

Especially when I’ve spent years trying to hold something together.

But the Shepherd sees the path from a perspective I don’t have.

He knows what’s ahead.

I don’t.

Even in the Valley

Then David says:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me…”

Notice the words:

“Though I walk through.”

Not stay.

Not live there.

Through.

The valley is a part of the journey, but it isn’t the destination.

And perhaps that’s something I need to remember in every difficult season.

Just because I’m in a valley doesn’t mean my Shepherd has left me.

In fact, David’s confidence isn’t based on the absence of the valley.

It’s based on the presence of the Shepherd.

“For thou art with me.”

That’s the difference.

I may not know what is waiting on the other side.

I may not understand why I’m walking through this particular valley.

I may even wish I had never entered it.

But I don’t walk through it alone.

His Rod and His Staff

David continues:

“Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”

At first, that might not sound comforting.

But the rod and staff represent the Shepherd’s authority, protection, correction, and guidance.

Sometimes being shepherded means being protected from something.

Sometimes it means being redirected.

Sometimes it means being corrected.

And sometimes what feels like a restriction may actually be protection.

The Shepherd isn’t trying to control the sheep.

He’s trying to keep the sheep from wandering into danger.

He Doesn’t Abandon Me

And then David arrives at this beautiful declaration:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of Yahuah for ever.”

After everything David describes—the green pastures, still waters, restoration, righteousness, valleys, fear, protection—he ends with confidence.

Goodness and mercy will follow me.

Not because life will always be easy.

Not because I will never lose anything.

Not because I will never experience disappointment.

But because my Shepherd is still my Shepherd.

And maybe that’s what I’ve been learning.

I don’t have to understand every chapter to trust the One who is writing my story.

I don’t have to know the entire road.

I don’t have to carry everything myself.

I don’t have to become my own provider, protector, guide, and source of direction.

I have a Shepherd.

And being my Shepherd is more than an occupation.

It’s His responsibility.

It’s His care.

It’s His commitment.

It’s His relationship with me.

So when I say,

“Yahuah is my Shepherd,”

I’m not simply repeating Psalm 23.

I’m making a declaration:

He leads me.
He provides for me.
He gives me rest.
He refreshes me.
He restores me.
He corrects me.
He protects me.
He walks with me through the valley.
And He does not abandon me.

I may not always know where He’s taking me.

But I know who is leading me.

And for now, that’s enough.

Yah is my Shepherd.

-ToniRay