Category: Christian Leadership

Throughout Psalm 23, continuous emphasis has been put upon the care exercised by the attentive shepherd.  Now all of it is summed up here by the Psalmist in one brave but simple statement: “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life”!

This may be one of the sweetest phrases ever penned.  Consider it from a few other translations:

• New English Bible:  Goodness and love unfailing, those will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole long life.
• Today’s English Version:  I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live.
• The Message:  Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.  I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.

Not only is this a bold statement, but it is somewhat of a boast, an exclamation of implicit confidence in the One who controls the writer’s career and destiny.

Click here for more from Keller, Morgan, and Lucado

I started 2020 with “sheep” as my word for the year.  Check out my first post of 2020 for more background.  That led me to study Psalm 23.

Interestingly, as Robert Morgan points out, “Sheep are very much like human beings; and vice versa; they need a good shepherd to tend to them.  We need a Great Shepherd to stay with us through all the experiences in life, someone to hover over us with an extended hand of mercy, someone to tend to us and our families and our needs.”

It’s often during life’s hurts that we come to understand the heart of the Shepherd, as we learn to accept His care and trust His heart. 

In fact, troubles in life have a way of driving us to the Lord’s tender mercies, and we bond with Him through the verses and vigor He bestows.

As a family, we’ve needed that in the past month, as my father-in-law battled COVID-19.  Check out my post honoring his life entitled: Dr. Wayne Cason Smith: He Taught Us How to Live, Love, & Leave.

Dr. Robert McQuilkin wrote, “Our Shepherd gives joy unspeakable and full of glory, and the fullness of power for service…abundant supply of every need…life more abundantly.”

Click here for more on the second half of Psalm 23:5 from Keller, Morgan, and Lucado