I am a true Bo Peep. I grew up on a Suffolk sheep farm in Idaho, so when I read Psalm 23, it is personal, encouraging, and comforting. Like most of the world, you may need comfort or encouragement in your life right now. There are a few qualities of your Good Shepherd that might encourage you, especially if you feel like you are traveling through the “valley of the shadow of death.”
THE SHEPHERD IS PERSONAL
The psalmist declares that “The Lord is my shepherd” because the relationship between a lamb and a shepherd can be close, caring, and compassionate. My first lamb was a “bummer,” meaning the mother had rejected or abandoned her own offspring. These kinds of lambs need extra attention, so I fed her with a bottle twice a day, holding her in my arms like a baby. I carded her wool, hand-fed her grain, walked her, and talked to her. On cold nights I tucked her into a warm pen and, if I heard howling coyotes, I got up to go out to check on her. I named her “Bunny” because she would delight herself jumping from rock to rock in our pasture. Ours was an “everywhere that Pammy went her lamb was sure to go” kind of relationship.
THE SHEPHERD IS A PROTECTOR
I picture both my granddad and brother as definitions of a protective good shepherd. Ravenous coyotes, wolves, and wild dogs roamed the high desert of our family farm. These savage animals would attack and kill whole flocks of sheep in a single night. To help keep our sheep safe, we hung bells around their necks. If we heard a cacophony of loud jingling, we knew the wild dogs were nearby threatening an attack. To protect the sheep, the men in my family would post themselves in the pasture. They would wrap themselves in a down sleeping bag with their “rod and staff” within arm’s reach. It was a cold, uncomfortable, thankless job, but it saved the lives of our entire flock. To this day, when I picture God as my Good Shepherd, I see Him as my strong, powerful, and attentive protector.
THE SHEPHERD IS A PROVIDER
When I read, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul.” (Ps. 23: 2) I can relate because that is my upbringing. I would often walk barefoot through the deep, lush, green grass of the pasture as the sheep grazed. I would take a blanket and a Bible, and lie down to spend quiet hours communing with God. This was my place of solace and restoration, far away from the chaos my alcoholic, raging, earthly father might be creating in our small farmhouse. To this day, an open meadow or trickling brook reminds me of the restorative presence of the Good Shepherd, even in the midst of chaos.
THE SHEPHERD IS A PURSUER
As I have followed my Good Shepherd, I have seen how “goodness and mercy" have surely followed me all the days of my life (vs. 6). One could phrase this as, “certainly what is good, pleasant, agreeable, beneficial, desirable, beautiful, and best will pursue you, as well as God’s faithful, loyal, lovingkindness.” Wow! The Lord, our Good Shepherd, pursues us to give us all things beautiful and beneficial.
More recently, I was going through one of the most challenging years of my life. It comforts me to know that with our Shepherd, we can walk through the darkest valley and not tremble because the Good Shepherd sees, knows, cares, loves, and prepares hope and help for each one of His sheep…including you!
Find a blanket, spread it on some green grass near water (or a comfortable and cozy space), then open your Bible, and let the Shepherd send some goodness and mercy your way.
