The Lord Is My Shepherd
Author
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
Summary: Christmas invites us to live in the peace, love, and closeness of Christ, who remains with us in every circumstance. When we acknowledge His lordship, the Lord offers Himself as our Shepherd: He guides us, gives us rest, and provides what we need. His promise that we will lack nothing refers to our needs, not to all our desires, which can even draw us away from the Father’s will. In valleys of hardship, we need not fear, for Christ conquered death and uses those trials for our spiritual growth. True joy does not depend on possessing what we long for, but on drawing near to God. His presence is our greatest provision, and no one can take it away from us.
The first sounds of the coming Christmas can already be heard, a time of giving, faith, closeness to God, and love. On this side of the world, the sentimental rush has already begun to draw near to our loved ones with the thoughtful gesture of a gift and to express our affection for them during this beautiful season of the year. An extraordinary time to hold fast to feelings of peace, friendship, fellowship, inner joy, and worship of the Christ who was born to be with us until the end of the world.
Christmas is optimism. The Word of God in Psalm 23 begins to take flesh in our consciousness with a breath of consolation and Emmanuel’s eternal promise to be by our side regardless of the circumstances.
I shall not want (Psalm 23:1b). God has promised to supply all our needs, but He does not assure us that He will grant every desire of our heart. God distinguishes between the two. Our needs are not many if we are to live according to God’s will. Our desires can sometimes be so numerous, and we long for so many things that, in order to make them a reality, we enter our valley of shadows and walk contrary to that will of the Father. Thanks be to God, He supplies not all our desires, but our needs. Jesus said: "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).
The Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23:1a) is more than a promise; it is an offering of love. The Lord offers Himself to guide us along the paths of a wicked world and to provide us with what is necessary for our well-being, leading us to places where rest is secure and pasture is abundant. For the Lord to be our shepherd, the first thing is to acknowledge His lordship. He will shepherd us insofar as we acknowledge that He is Lord. Christmas is a unique occasion to reflect on the place we have given the lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ in our Christian life. A large part of the world celebrates Christmas without an awareness of Christ. They are the ones who celebrate this season with fears and anxieties and forget that Christ is Christmas. We have a Lord who is our shepherd, the shepherd of Christmas. He will provide.
Do you lack money? The shepherd of the sheep gives you abundant life. Is life not more valuable than money? Do you lack faith? Ask the Lord to feed you with His Word, for faith comes by hearing what He wants to tell us. Are you passing through your valley of the shadow of death? Every Christian who loves the Lord will have to pass through this valley of difficult circumstances in order to grow spiritually. Our Lord and Shepherd has already passed through that valley, and on the cross He conquered death so that the children of His obedience might be raised together with Him.
Genuine joy does not begin when we obtain what we desire, but when we long to be close to God. Christmas is closeness to God. His presence within us is the greatest provision, the one no one can take away from us. “I will fear no evil, for You will be with me” (Psalm 23:4). There is nothing to fear. Perhaps we will not be able to have at hand everything our heart desires at Christmas, but our needs will be met. We may lack Christmas dinner, but a plate of unseasoned lentils is better than a Christmas without Christ. He will be with you as He was with Jacob, Jeremiah, David, and Paul in their moments of doubt and affliction. There is nothing to fear.
God bless you!