One of the best known portions of the Bible is Psalm 23: The Shepherd Psalm. Are you familiar with it? The psalm begins, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” If you compare this with what Jesus said in John 10 you’ll understand Jesus is the Shepherd referred to here. Let me ask you, is the Lord Jesus, your Shepherd?
I remember hearing of a little boy who was dying. While he was in the hospital a Christian man was trying to comfort him. He shared this verse with him, one word at a time: “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Then he would ask him, “Is Jesus your Shepherd?” To help him remember, he took his hand and squeezed one finger for each word. He started by squeezing the boy’s little finger and said, “The.” Then he squeezed the next finger and said, “Lord.” The next finger, “is.” When he squeezed his index finger he emphasized, “MY.” The thumb was, “Shepherd.” He repeated the five words always emphasizing the word “MY” when he squeezed his index finger.
The next morning the nurses found that the little boy had died. They were puzzled when they noticed he was gripping his index finger with his other hand. When the man arrived the nurses told him what they found. He smiled, assured that the boy had understood and trusted in Jesus as his Shepherd.
Is the Lord your Shepherd in that personal way? We will look at this chapter for a number of days using the four “S” or step study approach. Read Psalm 23 a few times in preparation for the next visit.
