Page 25 - May 2026 - Truth & Tidings

ive words in English render what our own path that we discover how im-
Hebrew says with two: “I-AM is- possible it is. To follow your heart is to
Fmy-shepherd.” My best advice is follow the herd.
to ignore the rest of this article and roll Everyone has a shepherd. We can’t es-
those words over your tongue instead. I cape following someone or something. But
AM – the all-sufficient, self-existent, eter- what if that someone was I AM? In Psalm
nal, personal, covenant-keeping God – is 23 David is sharing an inside look; he’s
my shepherd. throwing open the windows into the felt
Who would dare make such a claim? reality of what it’s like to have the great
As the superscription to Psalm 23 reveals, I AM as your shepherd. As Alec Motyer
King David did. David was himself a points out, three phrases in particular
shepherd, not just before he became king, capture the benefits of such a relation-
but after, for shepherding was a stock ship: “I shall not want” (v1); “I will fear
metaphor for leading and ruling (Num no evil” (v4); “I shall dwell in the house
27:17; Isa 44:28; 2Sa 5:2). An Israelite could of the LORD forever” (v6). 1
say, “David is my shepherd.”
But in Psalm 23, the shepherd is also a Provision
sheep. What thrills David’s heart is not the To have I AM as our shepherd is to
followers he has but the Shepherd he has. have all our needs met by the One with no
Here is a king preoccupied with being a needs of His own. He is completely self-
sheep. He is leading others by pointing existent and self-sufficient. He provides
them to the One he follows. David is a physically for His sheep, letting them lie
sheep telling other sheep, “I AM is my down in pastures of green grass and lead-
shepherd.” ing them to waters of rest (v2). He can also
And even though our culture is far provide for our spiritual needs, restoring
less agrarian and monarchical than Da- our soul and transforming our character
vid’s, the metaphor still fits. The world to reflect His ways (v3). It is impossible
of social media and advertising is built to encounter a need too great for I AM’s
on the reality that we are fundamentally infinite resources to meet or too small to
followers. We instinctively look for cues escape I AM’s infinite care.
and guidance from others, hence the rise
of “influencers.” Ironically, it’s when we 1 Bible quotations in this article are from the ESV
try hardest to define ourselves and strike unless otherwise noted.
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