The Lord is My Shepherd

Yesterday’s responsorial psalm was Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want….” The LORD is my shepherd. Who? The Lord God Almighty, the All-knowing, All-seeing, All-loving, All-caring One. God Himself guards me, protects me gives me life, sustains it, nourishes it, strengthens it, and preserves it for life eternally. The Lord IS my shepherd, not “was” or “will be” but IS my Shepherd this very second, this very hour, today and every day of my life, one day at a time! The Lord is MY Shepherd. God has chosen me as HIS special sheep, the lamb He carries on His shoulder. I am His. He is mine. He has his eye on me all of the time because I belong to Him and to no one else. The Lord is my SHEPHERD. He knows the terrain I will encounter today, whether it has dangerous potholes in it, whether it leads to unsafe crossings, whether it is smooth and inviting yet deceptively evil, unsafe and/or treacherous. He knows where the path leads and will turn me around to safer ground, if need be. As my Shepherd, God leads me to “green pastures” where my needs will be met: my need for full development spiritually, intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally. All I need to do is step forward, get off the couch, so to speak, and move toward the goal that promises me authentic freedom, peace and joy. Then it is that God empowers me to be nourished on all levels. As Shepherd, He gives me the provisions I need to become the best version of myself every second of every day in all kinds of “weather” and on all kinds of terrain. “The Lord is my Shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.”