The Lord is My Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd… Familiar… Danny preached about it on Sunday… eight of us reflected on it last night… they’re words we know well… we like the old words ‘maketh, leadeth, restoreth…’ It’s the much-loved teddy; we take it everywhere with us. It’s the comfortable well-worn jumper; we put it on. It’s the elderly reliable, grandmother; we hold her close.

The Lord is my shepherd… Pictures… A shepherd with his sheep… green meadows, peaceful streams… a dark valley… a feast on a table… a house of security. They stir the imagination. We put ourselves in the picture with the shepherd; feel the breeze, the rest, the relaxation; follow the path, fear the darkness; feast on our favourite food, enter the house.

The Lord is my shepherd… Life… Our journey through life… green pasture times when all is calm and good… dark valley times of shadows when we can’t see our way forward. Times of resting… progressing on the path… arriving at an eternal home. We look back on our past journey, see where we are now, look forward with hope.

The Lord is my shepherd… Personal… This is intensely personal. It’s my shepherd, my journey, my reassurance… This isn’t some picturesque poem, comfortable theology or gentle platitudes. Danny reminded us that it all hinges on ‘For thou art with me.’ It’s about me and my caring Shepherd-God. It concludes, ‘And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever’.

The Lord is my shepherd… New… Familiar words… gaining something new? Yesterday I read actor Martin Shaw talking about living in ‘Magpie times’. Magpies are black and white; we’re presented with facts, opinions, arguments and we’re required to pick a side – black or white. Shaw tells us to look closer. The magpie has beautiful blue feathers. What we thought we knew, has a colour that we hadn’t noticed before.

‘The Lord is my shepherd… Prayer… This morning I’m praying that I shall see beyond the familiar black and white to the new rich blue.