“He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3).

Sheep are defenseless and helpless. Sheep can be mean-spirited and stubborn. Sheep can be quite selfish making life miserable for others.

To top it all off, sheep aren’t the smartest animals in the animal kingdom. Sheep are dumb. Not only that, sheep are inherent followers.

Sheep herders train one sheep to break from the crowd to make its way into the slaughter house, and just as the trained sheep reaches the slaughter house, the herder takes that one out. By then, all the other sheep have followed the trained sheep to the slaughter house. The herders don’t even have to work to herd the sheep. The sheep are natural followers.

This is the reason why sometimes the shepherd has to break the legs of a sheep that wanders off. That one sheep will lead all the other sheep away.

Sheep are defenseless, helpless, mean-spirited, stubborn, selfish, stupid, and inherent followers.

Now do you understand why the bible refers to us sheep?

There is absolutely no reason why the shepherd should love and care for the sheep. But the good shepherd does.

There is no good reason why God should love and care for us. But God does.

Why?

For his name’s sake. That’s what our psalm tells us.

God not only cares for us, but he guides along right paths for his name’s sake.

Thanks be to God..

“He refreshes my soul” (Psalm 23:3).

Owning a house is not the same thing as having a home.

It’s quite possible to sleep and still get no rest.

Someone can have lots of money and still not be rich.

A home, rest, being rich are things money can’t buy.

Because the LORD is our shepherd, he provides us with everything we need for an abundant life. He gives us the security we need to find rest, and he leads us to quiet waters to refresh us.

The Hebrew word for “refresh” is shub. The “b” is pronounced as a “v” – Shoove. This word literally means to restore, to turn back, to return.

You see, the peace we lack is something that has been stolen from us. God created us in shalom – peace. God provided everything we need for an abundant life, everything for shalom, everything for peace. But sin wrecked all that. Sin stole that peace from us.

What God promises in this beloved psalm is to return, restore God’s shalom, God’s peace, God’s abundant life.

One more thing about the Hebrew: this verb is written in the imperfect tense. What that means is that the action described in the verse is incomplete, it is on-going.

God not only restores, refreshes, returns the peace and the shalom of God, but God continues to do so. You see, we leak peace and shalom. We’re not very good at keeping peace and shalom. So, God continues to restore, continues to return, continues to give us his peace and shalom. It’s there for the taking. But you must choose God’s shalom and peace. You have to make time to encounter God’s presence.

Just as we leak peace and shalom, we are prone to miss God’s peace and shalom. Even though it may be staring us right in the face, unless we are actively looking for God, we will miss God’s peace and shalom.

Take the time to seek God’s presence. God’s peace is there for the taking. But you must choose it.

Sheep are not only defenseless, sheep can also have nasty temperaments.

What do I mean by that? In a book called, “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”, Phillip Keller describes how when sheep are led to waters to drink, the sheep will not only drink but will get in the water to rile up the dredge and the silt. Soon, the water is no longer good to drink. So, even when the sheep are led to the waters, they must be kept from riling up the waters so that other sheep can drink as well.

The word for “lead” is the Hebrew word nahal. It means, not only to lead or guide, but specifically to lead or guide to a watering place in order to refresh.

There is a refreshing that can only be quenched by the shepherd. We don’t possess it. We can only be led to it. Only the shepherd can lead us to it.

A refreshing that can only come from the Good Shepherd.

The shepherd will lead the sheep to a safe place to drink and be refreshed. And the shepherd will use his staff to keep any sheep from riling up the waters so all his sheep can drink.

There’s a hunger and a thirst for meaning and purpose. There is nothing in the created world that can satiate this hunger and thirst. Only the shepherd can satiate this hunger and thirst.

Follow your shepherd. Trust his leading. Follow him.

Oh, yeah. And don’t mess it up for others. This refreshing is to be shared with all God’s sheep.