• Read Psalm 23

MORNING— A Shepherd for the Directionally Challenged

• Focal Passage: Psalm 23:1-3

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Some people seem to have an internal GPS. They always know where they are and exactly which road to take. Then there are the rest of us.

Once while living in Nashville my wife, Janine, and I went to Walmart, about a 6 mile ride from our home.  I made a wrong turn.  Instead of turning around, and letting Janine know what I had done, I kept going and went with my gut.  Apparently my gut doesn’t have GPS.  I proceeded to make 2 more wrong turns. 

Janine, who had been talking to me intensely about something the whole time, finally stopped and asked:  “Where are we?” 

I replied: “I have no earthly idea.” 

I don’t like to admit when I’m lost.  I like to think that makes me human.  On the road and in life we all need guidance.

David, the warrior king, calls himself a sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd.” Not just a shepherd or the Shepherd, but my Shepherd. For years he’d been the forgotten youngest son, running after real sheep in real fields. Later he spent long seasons hiding in caves from Saul. There were plenty of days when the promises of God felt distant and he looked nothing like a future royal.

Now, looking back, he realizes: His Shepherd had been leading him all along.

Because the Lord is his Shepherd, David says, “I shall not want”—literally, “I lack nothing.” The image is simple: green pastures, still waters, a soul restored. Sometimes that “pasture” looks like a full pantry and a stable job. Sometimes it looks like a $50 grocery trip that somehow feeds a family for a week. Sometimes it looks like God steering you into a church you’re not sure you like—only to discover later that it holds the very help you will need when your world falls apart.

And then this line: “He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” The Shepherd’s reputation is tied to the way He leads us. When you belong to Him, He isn’t careless with your route. He may take you through seasons that feel confusing, but they are never random. He restores, then He redirects. He turns you back when you wander.  It’s His name on the line.

We do have an internal guidance system—but it’s not our instincts. It’s a Person. The risen Christ, our Good Shepherd, keeps nudging, correcting, re-routing us. Our part is not to invent a path but to trust the One who already knows the way.

• Reflection:  Where in your life right now do you most feel “directionally challenged,” and what would it look like to admit, “Lord, I have no earthly idea where I am—but You do”?

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EVENING— A Shepherd That Knows the Way Home

• Focal Passage: Psalm 23:4-6

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

By verse 4 the scenery changes. We move from open meadows into a narrow valley where cliffs crowd close and shadows fall early. Sheep are nervous in places like that. Predators hide in the dark. There is nowhere to run.

Notice what David does not say: “If I happen to walk through the valley,” but “Even though I walk through the valley…” Valleys are not an accident in the Christian life; they are part of the route. There are diagnoses, betrayals, prodigal children, anxious nights and long waits where there doesn’t seem to be enough money, strength, or answers. Some valleys threaten “death”; others feel worse than death.

The comfort in the valley is not the absence of danger but the presence of the Shepherd: “I fear no evil, for You are with me.” Earlier David talked about God—“He leads… He restores…” Now he talks to God—“You are with me… Your rod and Your staff…” The valley has a way of turning theology into prayer.

The rod and staff are not decorative. The rod defends; the staff rescues and corrects. Under that care we learn that God’s discipline and God’s protection are both forms of love. The Shepherd is not only keeping predators away; He is keeping us from wandering off the path in panic.

Then the picture shifts again. In the very place our enemies expect us to fall, God sets a table. Imagine the school bully standing at the gate—and your father suddenly appearing to walk you home. You don’t just sneak past; you stroll by, hand in hand. That’s what God’s presence does: it turns the valley into a dining room and fear into fellowship.

David ends with two “sheepdogs” following him: “goodness and lovingkindness.” God’s goodness—His generous care—and His covenant love trail us “all the days of my life,” not just on the day of our funeral. And when those days are over, the Shepherd doesn’t hand us off to someone else. The One who led us beside quiet waters will lead us all the way home.

In January of 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina invited Billy Graham to a luncheon in his honor. Billy hesitated because Parkinson’s disease had begun to limit his public appearances. But they assured him, “We don’t expect a speech. Just come and let us honor you.” So he came.

After several kind tributes, Billy Graham stepped to the podium and said,

“I’m reminded today of Albert Einstein.”

Einstein was once traveling by train when the conductor came to punch his ticket. Einstein searched his pockets, his briefcase, and the seat beside him—but couldn’t find it. The conductor smiled and said, “Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket.”

A moment later, the conductor looked back and saw Einstein on his hands and knees searching under the seat. He hurried back and said, “Dr. Einstein, please don’t worry. I know who you are.”

Einstein looked up and replied,

“Young man, I too know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.”

Billy Graham paused, then said,

“See the suit I’m wearing today? It’s a brand-new suit. I bought it for this luncheon—and one other occasion. This is the suit I’ll be buried in.”

Then he added,

“But when you hear that I’m dead, I don’t want you to remember the suit. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am—I also know where I’m going.”

That is Psalm 23 confidence.

• Reflection:  What valley or “enemy-filled” place are you walking through right now, and how might it change your posture if you pictured the Shepherd preparing a table for you there?
• Closing Prayer:  Shepherd of my soul, thank You that I do not have to navigate this day—or my life—on my own. You lead me when I don’t know where I’m going; You restore me when I am tired and tangled; You guide me onto paths that honor Your name. Teach me to live as a found sheep—following, trusting, and saying with confidence, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Amen.