The Lord is My Shepherd

The first sounds of next Christmas are already being heard, a time of detachment, faith, closeness to God and love. On this side of the world, the sentimental rush has already begun to approach our loved ones with the detail of a gift and express our affection at this beautiful time of year. Extraordinary day to grasp the feelings of peace, friendship, brotherhood, inner joy and adoration 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 incarnate in our conscience with a breath of consolation and Emanuel's eternal promise to be by our side no matter the circumstances.

I will lack nothing (Psalm 23: 1b). God has promised to meet all of our needs, but He does not assure us that He will grant our heart's every desire. God makes a distinction between one and the other. Our needs are not many to live according to the will of God. Our desires can sometimes be so many and we long for so many things that, to make it come true, we get into our valley of shadows and walk against that will of the Father. Thank God, He does not supply all of our wants, but our needs. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will 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 offer us what is necessary for our well-being, taking us to places where rest is safe and grass is abundant. For the Lord to be our shepherd, the first thing is to recognize his lordship. He will shepherd us as we recognize that He is Lord. Christmas is the only occasion to meditate on where we have placed the lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ in our Christian life. Much of the world celebrates Christmas without a Christ consciousness. They are the ones who celebrate this time 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. Isn't life more valuable than money? Do you lack faith? Ask the Lord to feed you with His Word because faith comes from hearing what He wants to tell us? Are you traversing your valley of the shadow of death? Every Christian who loves his Lord will have to go through this valley of difficult situations to grow spiritually. Our Lord and Shepherd has already crossed that valley and on the cross he defeated death so that the children of his obedience could rise together with him.

Genuine joy doesn't begin when we get what we want, but when we long to be close to God. Christmas is close to God. His presence in our being is the greatest of provisions, the one that no one can take from us. "I will fear no evil because you will be with me" (Psalm 23: 4). There is nothing to fear. We may not be able to have everything our hearts desire at Christmas, but our needs will be covered. We may miss 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 distress. There is nothing to fear.

God bless you!