Life, Anxiety and Psalm 23

LIfegroup is going through the psalms this trimester and I’ve been reading the psalms a lot lately. They haven’t meant much to me in the past, normally they have served as inspirational poems about God. A purpose they serve quite well. The first psalm that I’ve really spent a lot of time thinking about is Psalm 23. I remember in Sunday school being tasked with memorizing it. Something I didn’t care enough to actually do (I only got the first two lines memorized, I was quite the overachiever).
Reading through it again I found that it really compares directly with John 10. Jesus might as well quote psalm 23 again, But he introduces himself as the shepherd. He is the one who the sheep come to and are protected by. There really is a lot of stuff in John 10 about it, which really gets me excited.
I think I’ve read psalm 23 about 10 times in the last few weeks, and am perplexed by its awesomeness. I can see why it is the go to verse for churches and why even at the church that I grew up in, that really didn’t do much for my spiritual growth, still had us memorize it. Psalm 23 is about life. We have choices, we can go out and wander without the shepherd(Jesus), or we can be fulfilled by joining his flock. I love analogies and I cant think of a better one for life. The Psalm reminds us that we will have times of trials in dark valleys and times of plenty, yet he will always be there with us. He restores our soul when we come to him, and TRUST in him, just like sheep trust in the shepherd to lead them as they cannot make it through life alone, wolves and other predators will take them with ease. I’ve thought about this a lot and it’s really just simple. Jesus is our shepherd and protector. Follow him, times will be tough and sometimes they will be good, but always remember who is leading you and that you cannot make it through life on your own.