This is a reblog from my last blog “Reinventing the We’ll”. But as I am getting ready for vacation in the Netherlands I thought it might be a good time to resurrect some of the old studies.
23 Pt. 1
“The Lord is my shepherd” Psalm 23:1
Midnight has come and gone. I am winding down in the hotel room as the youth group settles in for the night. I did some calculating. This is my fourteenth youth convention…the eighth I have had a hand in planning. I have turned this one over to Pastor Brad. I am mostly along for the ride to troubleshoot any problems he runs up against. Yet I have found that even this requires a good deal of intentionality and planning.
We started planning this thing back in June. There are a lot of logistics to taking a youth group on an over-night trip: registrations, hotels, meals, travel arrangements, crowd control, chaperone to student ratio and so on.
I realize though that if shepherding a youth group through one twenty four hour period is complicated, planning out and shepherding me through all the twists and turns of my life is a far more complex endeavor. Yet He does it! He is my guide who knows every path. He is the Waymaker when I am certain there is absolutely no way. He is the protector who sees every enemy before they attack. He is the leader who is never at a loss for a plan.
What does “The Lord is my shepherd” mean to you?

I’m thinking I might do a poem as my answer–praying for you as you go to the Netherlands, God bless and keep you.
I would love that! Will you post it as a blog and link back to my comments section?
In simplicity….I go to the next line….”I shall not want…”
If the Lord is my Shepherd (and He is)….then I shall not want. He is my guide, my banner my rear guard. He is my teacher, my trainer, and maker of ways through the impossibilities I see laid out before me.
I SHALL NOT WANT. These are words I stand on.
A good view. He provides our needs. We have everything we require. If He does not provide it then I know not to want it.
This was such a great series the first time I’m looking forward to reading it again. “The Lord is my shepherd” means that with each day I surrender my will to Him and follow His lead.
Amen Deb! I hope you have been enjoying it.
If He is my Shepherd (as indeed He is) then that means I am a sheep.
A sheep who follows the Shepherd is kept in safety and in the best provision and care.
A sheep that tries to step outside of the path set by the Shepherd is profoundly stupid!!!!!
My Shepherd is the perfect Shepherd.
Therefore, I would be completely stupid if I did not follow Him.
And as we all know sheep are known for their stupidity. Perhaps it was no accident that God likened us to sheep instead of dolphins.