The Lord Is My Shepherd

I was recently challenged to spend thirty minutes meditating on Psalm 23. My initial response was somewhat negative. "Why Psalm 23? The passage is so short that thirty minutes will be a challenge, and it's so familiar that I'm sure some other passage would be more profitable." I decided to try it anyway. I was to look for two things: what God is like and what God does. The point of the meditation was that there is something about God that makes verse one possible - "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want [lack]."

This is where I should let you know that if you want the most blessing, you should do the meditation project yourself before reading the rest of this article.

What God is like
v. 1 - responsible, strong, observant, dependable, vigilant, committed, brave, loyal, patient, reliable, thorough, loving, compassionate, resourceful

v. 2 - solicitous, gentle, sensitive, peaceful, caring, serene, beauty-loving

v. 3 - restorative, healing, edifying, deep/pondering, wise, righteous, holy, apt to teach, possessive, with integrity

v. 4 - loyal, dependable, unfailing, brave, fearless, imposing, inspirational, bolstering, omnipresent, eternal, powerful, compassionate, loving, comforting

v. 5 - abundant, resourceful, fearless, bountiful, gracious, commanding respect

v. 6 - good, loving, kind, eternal, loyal, unfailing, accepting, gracious

What God does
v. 1 - cares for my every need; dedicates Himself to me day and night; keeps me from lacking anything; guides, protects, and remains with me

v. 2 - leads me in good ways and peaceful ways, ways of blessing; gives me rest and peace

v. 3 - restores my soul; strengthens my inner man; brings me back and gives me strength when I am wandering and weak; leads me in the right ways when I would go astray or wander aimlessly; helps me to know what is right

v. 4 - stays with me in the darkest times; casts a presence so strong that it reassures me and gives me confidence in His protection and care; through His guidance and constraints gives me comfort in troubling times; makes me aware of His presence

v. 5 - gives me bountiful provision even in the face of danger and when resources would seem to be limited or inaccessible; makes me comfortable to rest and continue untroubled when danger stares right at me; gives me special blessing and care - blessings so abundant I can't contain them

v. 6 - stays with me forever; shows His love and goodness throughout my whole life; takes me to live with Him when I die; makes me His family and belonging to Him

I then had these thoughts about "I shall not want."

• God supplies my relational (social) needs. (v. 1a, 4b)
• God supplies my temporal (immediate) needs. (v. 1b)
• God supplies my emotional, internal needs. (v. 2, 4c)
• God supplies my spiritual needs. (v. 3)
• God supplies my intellectual needs. (v. 3b)
• God supplies for my darkest, most intense needs. (v. 4a)
• God supplies my needs when it is impossible. (v. 5a)
• God supplies blessings above my needs. (v. 5b)
• God supplies my life-long needs. (v. 6a)
• God supplies my eternal needs. (v. 6b)

By the way, I filled the full thirty minutes - maybe two or three extra. And I was somewhat in awe of how much "life" there was in this very familiar passage. "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."