THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD – I TRUST HIM!

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps 23:1). Psalm 23 is the most loved poem in the Old Testament. It follows The 22nd Psalm of the Cross, both written by David. He cries: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?” (Ps 22:1). He needed to feel God’s absence for him to appreciate God as his Shepherd. Many people have found faith, contentment, peace and comfort by reading and memorizing Psalm 23. The deep spirituality and the sweet poetry of this psalm are perfectly balanced. David was an experienced shepherd before becoming king. He knew the powerful relationship the shepherd had with his flock. Sheep are foolish, weak and needy animals. Without a shepherd, they surely die. The Lord is Jehovah, the I AM. It is the personal and covenant name of God. In Hebrew, the word “shepherd” is Rohi, meaning “to feed”. Shepherds are responsible for the feeding, care, guidance and protection of their flocks. This imagery is used in the Bible to describe God’s relationship with His people. “I shall not want!”- these words express a complete trust in God’s character, provision, and protection, a deep contentment and assurance that God will supply all our needs, spiritual and physical. In the New Testament, Jesus identifies Himself as the “Good Shepherd” (Jn 10:11), giving us the spiritual fulfilment we need by providing for the deepest needs of our body and soul. Apostle Paul said the same thing. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). God’s love eliminates any lack or deficiency. Your relationship with Jesus is Personal. He owns you. He is close to you, and He actively cares for you. The relationship is constant and not occasional. The verb “IS” (my shepherd) is present tense. By calling the LORD “my shepherd,” David declares personal, moment-by-moment dependence on God’s active care. The word “my” moves trust from doctrine to experience. God knows you by name. His attention on you is not diluted in the crowd. Trust is built on this foundation: “I belong to Jesus and He belongs to me, forever!” The relationship is not religion; it is an eternal fellowship. It stays active as long as you stay close and follow Jesus! By the power of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to enter the heart of this Psalm and experience revival, fresh apape Love and days of heaven on earth. Amen!

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD! I AM THE LORD’S SHEEP. I TRUST ALL HIS PROMISES!

Because The Lord is his Shepherd, David declares that “I shall not want”. It means “I lack nothing”. I am the sheep of Jesus. I totally trust that He provides my daily bread, peace of mind, health in my body, joy and total spiritual satisfaction. I shall not want does not mean Jesus gives me luxuries. But He promises me to give me all that I need, spiritually and physically. Because Jesus, my shepherd guides, provides, and protects me, I rest in the assurance that the nothing truly needful will ever be missing. Simply said: I trust Jesus with all my heart!

Trust is foundational in any healthy relationship, with God or with people. Trust is defined as complete confidence in a person, a firm belief that someone has godly character to help you and not to harm you. That person is strong, honest, loving and dependable. Trust is the belief that a person is responsible and will do what is expected. Trust is implanted in a child’s mind during the first two years of his life. The mother is the first teacher of trust. If the baby receives love and trust, he will grow happy and hopeful trusting others. If the child is rejected or neglected during the first few years of his life, he will develop anxiety, inferiority complex, and mistrust in people. Trust is not built in a day. It grows through repeated consistency. People who trust are happy and they are skillful in making good relationships. Trust increases the quality of their lives. People who mistrust others are unhappy and slow to make friends. Trust once lost is very hard to regain.

I WILL NEVER BE HUNGRY!

“The LORD will not let the godly go hungry, but He refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked” (PV 10:3; NLT). What does God provide?

1-Our basic needs, spiritual and physical “My God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philip 4:19).

2-Strength in weakness, emotional stability, peace, and courage. “He gives power to the weak” (Is 40:29)

3-Peace of mind. “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7).

4-Spiritual satisfaction. “Those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10).

5-Guidance and wisdom to make decisions. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (Jam 1:5)

6-Salvation and Eternal security. The believer is kept by God’s power. Jesus says: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (Jn 10:28). God “denies the craving of the wicked.” Their desires remain unsatisfied because they seek fulfillment in life apart from Him. This is divine justice: blessings for obedience and frustration for rebellion.

LESSONS ON HOW TO TRUST THE SHEPHERD TO PROVIDE:

*Study the Bible. Pray that your faith becomes mature. Trust God’s promise even when resources seem small. God’s words are immovable.

*Seek righteousness through daily obedience and repentance. Practice honesty, humility and faithfulness. Expect God’s timely supply!

*Share generously; God often meets others’ needs through our hands. Love is not stingy! God rewards good deeds done for His glory! “There is one who scatters yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself” (PV 11:24, 25)

*Record answered prayers to remember His faithfulness and silence future doubts.

TRUST GOD LIKE THE BIRDS

Jesus teaches us that the Father cares for all our needs. He said: “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt 6:26). Jesus uses the example of birds because it is a common sight. Birds symbolize freedom from anxiety, as they live without the concerns of human life. Anxiety means being unhappy, nervous, troubled and worrying about problems, fears about the future. In ancient societies, farming the land, sowing, reaping, and storing was essential for survival. Birds do not partake in these agricultural activities. They trust God alone for their lives. Jesus contrasts human efforts with divine care. He points at God’s care for all His creation, big or small. The words “heavenly Father” reflects a personal and relational God who is actively involved in the world. “Are you not much more valuable than they?” This question is about the value of human beings in God’s eyes. Humans, created in the image of God, hold a special place in His creation (Genesis 1:27).

In this world there are about 20,000 species of birds, all created by God. The largest bird in the world is the ostrich. It stands up to 2.7m tall and weighs over 150 kg. It cannot fly but he is still a champion. The ostrich runs up to 70 km/h. It lays the largest eggs of any living land animal, weighing about 1.5 kg each. The ostrich lives in Africa and Australia. He eats grass, seeds, and occasionally insects, lizards etc found in the Savanah. The smallest bird in the world is the Bee Hummingbird. It is native to Cuba, measuring as little as 5 cm and weighing less than a coin. Often mistaken for bees, these tiny marvels have incredibly fast wing beats and feed on nectar collected from flowers.

Birds engage in everyday activity—flying, nesting, searching for seed—but they make no strategic plans for harvest or storage. Despite that, the Father continually supplies what they need; not one day the birds sleep hungry. We are commanded to “look,” to observe creation’s silent sermon and learn about God’s reliable character. Anxiety feeds on imagined futures; trust rests on the proven faithfulness of God in the present. Dependence on God is not laziness. Have you ever watched birds eating, especially in winter? It takes some effort to find the food. They don’t just sit around waiting for someone to put food in their mouth. Jesus stated clearly that God is the one who provides food for the birds. This implies that God provides for every creature. Yet, if a bird sits still, instead of gathering the food God has provided for them, they will starve. Birds have faith in God. They keep looking, obviously confident that food is available somewhere. Although they have nothing stored up for their future, they don’t worry. Neither should we. They gather daily what God provides for them. So should we.

We too must labor for our daily bread. But trusting God transforms work from anxious striving into peaceful obedience. God created Adam to work. It is true that God punished Adam for his rebellion by making him work harder. God said to him “In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen 3:17). But work itself is not the result of sin. It was part of God’s perfect will for man. For a believer in Christ, his soul is saved, his body is healed, and his work must find purpose thru faith in Christ. Jesus compares the care of God towards birds and towards His children. He wants us to start with the lower level of birds and rise to the higher level of care for His children. God created the birds, but he is not their Father. God feeds the birds the way a human father takes care of the pets in his house. Will this father’s children worry that he will not feed them? That is impossible. The father is rich, generous and kind. Let the children have peace of mind, trust their father and be grateful to him. We can have savings accounts but not worry about the future. I don’t know if birds are thankful to God, or not. But we should be thankful. We should recognize God as the Source of all the good that we enjoy in life. Work but don’t worry! Have faith that God provides all we need to live. Seek the provision with fasting and prayers until God answers. Give thanks to God for taking care of you. SAY THIS: The Lord is my Shepherd! I shall not want! God cares for the birds, so I know He will take care of me! Thank You, Abba Father!

The birds and the animals don’t have souls. Yet, God provides food for them. So much more, God will provide for us who are created in His image and for His glory. We are called to trust in His care and provision rather than worry about material needs. Recognize your worth in God’s eyes. Trust leads to freedom and joy! Anxiety is the language of Mammon and of doubt! Anxiety about our material needs can be removed by focusing on God’s faithfulness. We must live by faith and not by sight. Trusting in God’s unseen hand is a mark of mature faith. While God provides, we are also called to be good stewards of what we have, find contentment in His provision and give Him thanks!

Finally, there will never come a need in your life that takes God by surprise. You may be surprised by sickness, by financial distress, and people’s actions, but these things are never a surprise to God. He knows the end from the beginning. He is with you through it all. He will never fail to keep all His promises. The God who knows when a sparrow falls and provides food for the birds can be trusted to deal correctly with every challenge and difficulty that we face in life and to provide for all our needs! To God be all the glory!

WHY MUST LOVE BE MORE THAN WORDS?

“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth… Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words]” (1Jn 3:18; NKJ, AMP). Apostle John is addressing the believers as “little children”. Possibly, they are the members of the church where he is their pastor. As their father or shepherd, he tells them to live a life of love towards each other. Love should not be just verbal, but in action, not performance but a lifestyle of practical help for one another. Like faith without works is dead (Jam 2:15,16) so claiming to love without doing good deeds is useless. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for their religious pride and a total lack of compassion towards the needy. Love must be seen in our deeds, must be sincere and grounded in truth. Our actions should align with God’s truth as revealed in Scripture. Our motives for doing anything must be pure and God-honoring. Love “rejoices in the truth” (1Cor 13:6). This genuine and humble love manifested through helping others is a sign of spiritual maturity. The way we love others profoundly impacts our communities. By loving in action and truth, we become a testimony of God’s love to the world!

Visible Love proves genuine Faith. Action proves that you are not a hypocrite like the Pharisees. The world recognizes Love by what they see, not by religious slogans. Love reflects God’s nature: God did not love only in words, but in action. He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Love is shown at the Cross. Jesus did not faint. Jesus died for our sins. Active compassion keeps our hearts soft and purifies the hearts. Visible Acts of love bless the giver and the receiver. Pray to be sensitive and identify genuine needs in your family, church and community. Partner with others for a greater impact. Unity magnifies Love’s visibility. Love encourages us to do more for God. It silences the accuser of the brethren by showing visible good fruit. It builds the fellowship. Love gives glory to God and is rewarded eternally! Remember, words matter, but deeds give words credibility. When Love moves from tongue to the hands, heaven’s culture shows up on earth, Christ is exalted, and hearts—ours included—are changed for good, forever. Worship the Lord!