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When life leaves you empty, lost, or overwhelmed, there is still a Shepherd who knows your name.

In this powerful episode, Jamie Luce unpacks Psalm 23 like never before — revealing how every word of this familiar passage is a divine promise of protection, provision, and purpose. Whether you’re walking through the valley, wrestling with fear, or desperate for rest, this message will remind you that you are not alone, not forgotten, and never too far gone.

You’ll discover:

• What it truly means to say “The Lord is my Shepherd”

• How God restores your soul — even from wounds you caused

• Why still waters and green pastures are more than poetic

• What the “table in the presence of enemies” really means

• How to return to the fold if you’ve wandered far

Let this episode feed your faith and anchor your hope. If you’ve ever asked, “God, where are You in this?” — this message is for you.

Where to dive in:

(0:00:08) – Discovering God’s Shepherd Care (13 Minutes)

This chapter invites us to spend time in the Word of God, focusing on the familiar yet profound passage of Psalm 23. I share how the Lord has been revealing new insights from this scripture to me, and I promise that these revelations will offer encouragement and guidance, no matter your current circumstances. We begin by understanding the personal nature of God as our shepherd, exploring who the Lord is—our creator, sustainer, healer, and provider—and what it means for Him to be our shepherd. We then turn to the Gospel of John to further illuminate this relationship, emphasizing the intimate care and protection God offers us. This exploration of Psalm 23 aims to provide you with fresh understanding and assurance of God’s presence and guidance in your life.

(0:13:15) – Trusting in the Good Shepherd (14 Minutes)

This chapter reflects on the nature of sheep and their dependence on a shepherd, drawing parallels to human behavior and spiritual reliance on God. I recount a video illustrating a sheep’s inability to avoid danger without guidance, likening it to our tendency to repeat mistakes without divine intervention. The discussion extends to the interpretation of “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” emphasizing the profound idea of lacking nothing due to God’s protection, even when our own actions lead us astray. I also share a poignant memory of witnessing a runner’s determination despite physical exhaustion, relating it to moments when we reach our limits and need support beyond ourselves. Through these stories, I emphasize the importance of faith and the assurance that we are cared for, even in our weaknesses.

(0:27:43) – Guidance and Sustenance Through God’s Word (8 Minutes)

This chapter explores the parallels between physical nourishment and spiritual nourishment, emphasizing the importance of internalizing the word of God. Just as our bodies need food to sustain us, our spirits require the word to guide and protect us. The analogy of Popeye gaining strength from spinach is used to illustrate how God’s teachings empower us over time, not instantaneously. By continually consuming and reflecting on the word, we prepare ourselves for life’s challenges, ensuring that wisdom and guidance are available when needed. We also highlight the necessity of obedience to God’s commands and the benefits of gathering with fellow believers. Emphasizing the importance of staying close to the good shepherd, we acknowledge our need for divine guidance, comparing it to an orchestrator conducting a symphony, harmonizing the various aspects of our lives into something beautiful.

(0:35:37) – Guidance and Provision Through Shepherd’s Leadership (9 Minutes)

This chapter explores the wisdom of following God’s guidance by returning to the last instruction given when unsure of the next step. I reflect on the importance of patience and timing, comparing it to the full-term development of a baby, and emphasize how we often rush ahead of God’s plan. By sharing an anecdote about being guided to a restroom, I illustrate how God can lead us, sometimes directly and other times more subtly. I discuss the multifaceted nature of divine leading, which includes bestowing what we need, placing us where we need to be, and governing our path. The Holy Spirit’s role in guiding us, akin to an alarm clock reminding us of crucial tasks, is also highlighted, reinforcing the concept of being led by the Good Shepherd.

(0:44:48) – Walking in God’s Righteous Paths (11 Minutes)

This chapter explores the comforting notion that the Lord knows our fears and leads us to safety and peace. We discuss how walking in paths of righteousness means living with accuracy, honesty, and equity, benefiting both ourselves and our community. The concept of righteousness is expanded to include communal loyalty, salvation, wellbeing, and even normalcy, contrasting God’s definition of normal with the chaotic definitions of society. I also reflect on the meaning of being a namesake and how living righteously for His name’s sake reflects God’s character to the world. This journey is not only for personal peace but also to honor God and showcase His attributes through our lives.

(0:55:44) – Preparing a Banquet in Battle (9 Minutes)

This chapter explores the metaphorical significance of shadows and light, emphasizing how the presence of light signifies hope and guidance. We reflect on the idea that shadows, though daunting, are overshadowed by the brightness of the divine light walking with us. I examine the biblical symbols of the rod and staff, representing discipline and protection, and how these elements provide comfort and guidance in life’s valleys. Additionally, the chapter highlights the importance of spiritual readiness and discipline, drawing parallels with a soldier’s preparation for battle. Through the lens of scripture, I discuss how God prepares a table for us, symbolizing His justice and righteousness, and how this divine preparation ensures we are equipped to face challenges with strength and confidence.

(1:04:37) – God’s Just Desserts and Anointing Oil (10 Minutes)

This chapter explores the profound imagery of “preparing a table in the presence of your enemies,” as seen through a biblical lens. We reflect on how God’s justice and righteousness are symbolized by this table, providing blessings to the faithful while their adversaries watch. Drawing from the pastoral tradition, we discuss the anointing of a sheep’s head with oil, serving as a repellent against pests, and how this act brings peace. This metaphor extends to King David’s anointing, where he was chosen by God in the presence of his doubters. Additionally, we examine the story of the prodigal son from Luke 15, illustrating the journey from abundance to want, and the spiritual significance of not being “less than” with God. Through these stories, we consider the themes of divine provision, peace, and identity in faith.

(1:14:19) – The Overflowing Blessings of God (12 Minutes)

This chapter explores the profound imagery of Psalm 23, emphasizing the abundant blessings that overflow when we walk under the leadership of the good shepherd. Using the metaphor of laundry saturation, I illustrate how God’s blessings can fill us to the point of overflow, impacting those around us. We discuss the promise of “goodness and mercy” that follows a life of obedience and faithfulness, emphasizing that these blessings come after following God’s path, not necessarily during moments of trial. Furthermore, I reflect on the meaning of “dwelling in the house of the Lord,” not just as a physical place or eternal promise, but as a continuous return to God, turning away from evil, and living a life that honors His gift of salvation. Finally, inspired by Torchy Swinson’s breakdown of the 23rd Psalm, I highlight the relational aspect of the Lord as our shepherd, inviting listeners to turn back to God and experience His endless provision and forgiveness.

(1:26:43) – Seeking God’s Comfort and Provision (1 Minutes)

This chapter focuses on spiritual preparedness and reliance on divine support. We emphasize the importance of hiding God’s word in our hearts to wield it effectively in times of need, acknowledging God’s unwavering presence and protection as our good shepherd. We express gratitude for His blessings and encourage listeners to feel secure in His promises, never leaving or forsaking us. As we reflect on the comforting knowledge of God’s proximity and care, I invite listeners to share this encouragement with others, subscribe for updates, and reach out with prayer requests and testimonies.

Full Transcript

This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.

0:00:08 – Jaime Luce
Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. Thank you so much today for taking some time with me to spend in the Word of God together, one of my favorite things to do. I hope you enjoy it too. Today we are going to be spending our time in a very familiar passage of scripture. The Lord laid this particular scripture on my heart many weeks ago, and it has just been rolling over me, so much so that the Lord has been really unfolding it to me, using it in a way that I’ve never experienced before, and sometimes the most familiar scriptures can become old hat to us and we don’t really realize the impact they have and the power that’s within them, and so I just want us to spend some time today going over the 23rd Psalm, and before you figure out that this is something you don’t need or you already know this passage, I promise you I will be giving you things that are new for you today, things that will definitely encourage you. I don’t know where you. That are new for you today, um, things that will definitely encourage you. I don’t know where you are in your life right now. I don’t know what’s going on in your world, but I can tell you that there is something in this particular scripture that you need, and God has the answer for you. If you need an answer today, if you’re looking for direction today, if you’re looking for comfort today, if, if you are confused, bewildered, if you need justice, no matter what your circumstance is, today, I guarantee you, I have something for you in the word of God. He is so careful to make sure and feed his children what they need. He is so good, such a faithful God, and I have the word for you today. I have fresh bread for you today. So do me a favor If you don’t already have your Bible, get your Bible out.

Turn with me to Psalm 23. I’m going to be starting Um, and I’m going to read from the new King James version Um. I’m also going to, at some point, read John 10, one to 16. I’ll also be going to the book of Luke I believe it’s chapter 15. But we’re going to the lion’s share is going to be here in Psalm 23. And I’m going to do my best to give you all of this in a decent amount of time, not keep you longer than we need to. So let’s go to Psalm 23. I’m going to go ahead and dissect this quite a bit. So I, instead of giving you the whole thing all at once, I’m going to take you through kind of line by line, and so, as we start, I wrote down some things because I thought that this would be so helpful to us.

The very first line of this psalm, this is King David. David himself had been a shepherd before he was a king. So he is speaking from experience knowing God in all of the ways that he lines out for us and gives description for us. These are ways that David knows God and knows about how he cares for us, and it says the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Who is the Lord? Who is the Lord?

Let’s talk about the Lord for a moment. The Lord is the creator and sustainer, and not just the sustainer, but the sustainer of all that is. He is life itself all-powerful, all-knowing, all-sufficient, over all. He was God before us and he will be God after us. He was God before us and he will be God after us. He is God all by himself, full of love and mercy, full of compassion and grace. Truth and justice are his and his alone. He is our healer and our provider. Though he is higher than the heavens, he is closer than a brother. He is the lion and the lamb, our hope of glory and our sacrifice. He is unmatched in beauty, yet he bore the filth and shame of our sin. He is the way, the only way, to the Father. He is the guardian of the fatherless and husband to the widow. He is the cloud by day and the fire by night. He is water from the rock and rain on a dry and thirsty land. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and this Lord the Lord is my shepherd. That’s personal my shepherd. Today I can read this and I can say to myself he’s my shepherd.

And the beauty of this scripture is that when you read it, he’s your shepherd. He is personal to each one that he calls his own. He knows us by name. He knows the number of hairs on our head. I’ve heard it said that he doesn’t just count the numbers of hair on our head. It would be miraculous enough to know how many hairs are on my head, but the fact that they are numbered means that if this particular one falls out, he knows that’s hair number 22,578 that fell out. You are that particularly and intricately made, designed by the designer. He knows everything about you. This Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, is your shepherd.

So what is a shepherd? If I know who the Lord is and the picture is that he’s my shepherd, what is a shepherd? The job of a shepherd was to protect the sheep at all costs, to care for them by making sure that they had good nourishment, green grass and still waters to drink. He stayed with them day and night. He knew them and they knew him. Let’s read that.

That whole understanding is in John 10. And Jesus says and I’m going to read through this kind of quickly, but I want you to, if you’ve got your Bible, read along with me but it says truly, truly. Whenever Jesus says this, there is a major emphasis. He’s saying here I can’t be more clear Truly, truly. Please pay attention. This is really a truth you need to understand. Truly truly, I say to you. You need to understand Truly truly.

I say to you he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. I know you know many. There are many of you who are probably dog lovers and you might have many dogs and they each have their own name and if you’re calling them, you call them by name and they don’t answer. They’re smart, they wait till you call their name.

This is the way our shepherd deals with us. He calls us by name to lead us where he’s going to lead us Verse four. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them Verse seven.

So Jesus again said to them, said to them truly, truly. I say to you I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

This very familiar and famous scripture is in the center of Jesus explaining who he is as a shepherd. He explains that the thief comes to try to steal, to pull away, to rob, to destroy his sheep Think of a wolf who is outside ready to attack. And yet the shepherd is there to protect the sheep, to make sure that they have life and they have it abundantly, not by scarcity, not by simply um meeting that basic need. Make sure that you have a basic need met but he says he wants them to have abundant life. I am the good shepherd. Interesting because people like to say that Jesus didn’t say he was God. And yet Jesus is saying because he said to another man the rich young ruler came to him and said good teacher. And Jesus said why do you call me good when only God is good? So he references that if God is the only one who is good and he is calling himself good, he’s allowing you to see who he truly is.

I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd, shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, he who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the father knows me, and I know the father. Jesus knew the father and the father knew Jesus so intimately they are one. Jesus said it over and over again. I and the father are one. They are one. Jesus said it over and over again I and the Father are one. Jesus is saying I know you that intimately, that closely, that perfectly, the way that I am known by my Father and he knows me. I know my sheep, which means the sheep have the ability to know him the same way that he knows the father.

If we’re not living at a level that we truly not multiple levels below, but sadly probably true where we could be living there, there’s always more in God, always more to learn, always more to seek after, always more to attain and to partake of in him. Okay, that’s a good shepherd, that’s what a good shepherd does. And Jesus says that the Lord is the good shepherd ours, personally and we are known by name. Okay, so what’s a sheep, right? Uh, the sheep. This is funny because, um, we probably would prefer to be known more as lions, tigers and bears oh my, versus being the sheep. Why, why is it? Why does it feel like an insult to be the sheep? Because we know sheep to be the sheep, because we know sheep to be dumb animals. They need all this leading, they need a shepherd. On their own, they will get into trouble.

Sheep are not smart animals. They are ignorant animals who completely rely on the shepherd. And even if they, even if they, um, you know, let themselves, um, well, if they’re left to their own devices, let’s say it that way If the animals are left to their own devices, they cannot care for themselves. They will eventually either be killed or die of starvation or thirst because they cannot care for themselves. They are completely reliant on the shepherd. Left to themselves, they will wander off, and they will wander into dangerous territory and easily be injured or killed. They will remain lost unless they are found by the shepherd.

I remember watching a little video on social media and it made me laugh and sad at the same time, because it was a big sheep. This was a large sheep and you can see that the sheep someone had dug a narrow type of ravine. I’m not sure if that was for purposes, if they were going to lay piping in there, if that was a natural formation because of rain and it was a type of gutter for the water. I don’t really know, but it was deep enough. It was only so wide and it was deep enough that you would get caught in it. It’s not like it was a little thing that you could just simply turn your ankle and you’d literally go in it.

And the video is of a sheep who has been running off and ran and jumped right into that ravine headfirst. He is completely stuck and he cannot get himself out. And you see the man who is in charge of the sheep I’m assuming he’s a shepherd, a farmer, something. He goes after the sheep and when he pulls him he’s literally having to pull him out by his legs, his hind legs, and get him free to save him from that being stuck in that hole. And as soon as he gets that sheep I mean it took strength to get, it was a big sheep to get him out of that ravine as soon as he gets them out. That sheep literally ran and jumped and went right back in to that very same place he had just gotten out of.

Now, isn’t that just like us? I’m sorry, but sometimes we act like stupid sheep. We really do. God can deliver us out of a problem, out of a situation, and what do we do? We go jump right back into those same situations. We haven’t learned a thing, and if it wasn’t for the goodness of the one who was watching over us, we would die there. We would die there. And yet we have a good shepherd. He’s our personal shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. Now, this word you know. Newer versions say I have no or I have, I am not in need of anything. But I like this phrase. I like that I shall not want. What does it mean?

Oxford dictionary says that it simply means why most of them have changed the word. That want is simply a lack or a deficiency. So on its surface level level, and in our American vernacular right now, the word want I shall not want simply would mean that I don’t lack anything, I have no deficiencies. Well, that’s marvelous. I mean, that’s really marvelous, if you think about that to have no deficiencies in anything, in yourself, in your substance, in what’s available to you, to have no lack in anything, no deficiencies. That’s beautiful, but here’s what the strong says, and I love this it means to miss out on something through one’s own fault.

One’s own fault to miss, well, that’s even bigger. That’s meaning that I have no want. That means I have nothing that I have missed out on. That’s a fullness of God. To miss out on something through one’s own fault. Come on, how many of you, how many of you, have gotten into, into situations and it was your own fault? Like I said, the little sheep that I was telling you about jumped right back into that ravine. He’s saying he is such a good shepherd that he will protect you even from the things that you have got yourself into. It’s your own fault, he’s the good shepherd.

It also means to be in short supply, to fail to give out. Have you ever just given out, like you were going along and you were doing all you could? You were giving it all you could. It’s like you just keep thinking I’m just going to keep going. I’m just going to keep going. I’m just another day, just another hour. I can do this one more time. You just keep going and then when you go to do it, you’ve given out.

I remember watching years ago. I was never so impacted by watching it. It was scary. Actually, I was a child when I watched this, but we were watching some type of I don’t know the proper term for this, but it was a race, a running race, and it was a long distance race. I don’t know if this was the Olympics. It was a big deal and everybody was watching it.

And there was a woman who, at the very end she was coming up on she could see the finish line in front of her and she could barely walk. It looked like her legs were disjointed disjointed, um, like, like she was wobbling. And her legs were like, um, they were wobbling, it was. They were like rubber and she couldn’t. Her hips were no longer functioning properly, her glutes were no longer functioning properly, her ankles and her knees, her everything about her legs and her feet. She had gone further than her body was actually prepared to go and her body was breaking down and she was determined to finish. Before she gets to the finish line, her body is giving out on her completely. Her bowels loose themselves as she’s going, trying to get to the end. Nothing is functioning as it should. Nothing is moving properly, nothing is operating. She has lost control.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt? What do you do? What do you do when you come to the end of yourself? What do you do when you’ve found yourself in of yourself? What do you do when you’ve found yourself in the ravine and you’ve put yourself there? What do you do when you’ve given out? You’ve given all, all that you had and you’ve given out. That word that you shall not want means that you will not be in short supply. You won’t fail. You won’t miss out on something, even if it’s because of your own fault. You won’t fail or give out. You won’t lack. You won’t be in need. You won’t be poor. You won’t be in a lower than status. You won’t be less than poor. You won’t be in a lower than status. You won’t be less than inferior.

To Think about this when you’re if you’re looking for a job or you’re in a position and you need a raise and you’re needing and you feel there’s competition out there and you’re you don’t feel like you’ve got what it takes and others have more and they’re more equipped than you and someone smarter than you. And when you have Jesus as your shepherd, he says as his sheep you will not be in want, meaning you won’t be inferior to anybody else, you won’t be less than than anybody else, you won’t experience deficiency in something advantageous or desirable, you won’t lack or go without, you won’t come up short. This, to me, is quite a promise that if I rely because a sheep is completely reliant on the shepherd, if I make myself completely reliant on my good shepherd, I have none of these things that I have to worry about. I will truly lack nothing. I shall not want, and that’s your promise today. If the devil’s been telling you you don’t have what it takes, you don’t have enough, it’s going to come up short. Then what do we do? We get before the throne room of God and we say Lord, you are my good shepherd. You promised me, according to your word, that cannot return to you void, that I shall not want. I am relying on you to meet my needs, to make sure that I don’t come up short, that I lack nothing, that I am inferior to nothing and no one, that you will provide for me everything that I need.

That is just the first reference to our good shepherd. That’s just verse one. Let’s look at verse two. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He makes me lie down in green pastures. I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like you had to lay down. You know, when we’re children we don’t like to be told we have to go to bed or we have to take a nap, and the kids don’t ever want that. And then you get older and you wish someone would make you take a nap, make you go lay down. The beauty of our Good Shepherd is he makes me lie down in green pastures.

Well, you need to understand first of all what green pastures are, what he is making you to do, what that means to be cared for in such a way that he knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what you have need of the word says before you even ask. A sheep cannot communicate and cannot articulate its own needs, but the shepherd knows what they need, even when they can’t ask for what they need. Sometimes you need rest, sometimes you’re exhausted and the Lord causes things in your schedule to kind of go haywire and you don’t understand why. Things get canceled, things get moved around, things happen, you lose some business and you think God, why You’re the provider. What’s going to happen? Well, he’s providing. But he may be providing something you need that you don’t even know how to articulate that you need. You may not even know you need that, yet he knows you better than you know you. The creator knows the created far more than the created knows of itself. God is watching out for you and leading them into green pastures.

A good shepherd would take his sheep and lead them into an area that was abundant tall grass. Why he wanted them to have the ease of eating. It wasn’t difficult he wanted to nourish them. That was his main job keep them safe, to help them grow, to truly take care of them, to nourish them. But what does it mean? That he is performing an important task, folks. The word of God is our bread. It’s the bread. Jesus is the bread and we are to eat. Jesus said of himself we have to eat of him. If we don’t eat of him, we basically have no part in him. We have to eat of him and this word, he is the word. This word is our bread. It’s our manna from heaven, it’s our sustenance, it’s our substance, it’s our um, it’s what will wash and renew our minds. It’s what will fill our hearts.

Hi, my name is Jamie Luce. I wanted to share with you some information about a brand new book entitled you Don’t Need Money, you Just Need God. It’s a playbook for miraculous provision and I want to share it with you because it solves the problem we are all facing right now. The economy is going crazy. Gas prices are soaring, there’s wars and rumors of wars. We’ve got everything hitting us all at once, with interest rates rising. You need to know what to do, and so many times we think we need the money, but you don’t need money. I’m telling you. The answer is you need God, and that’s exactly what we want to teach you through this book. We’ll give you practical ways to know what to do and how to do it, so that you get answers. Now you can find my book on Amazon. You can also go to jamielucecom. You can also find this book at youdontneedmoneyyoujustneedgodcom. This book is available today.

You know when you eat, if you think about like carbohydrates and you eat, or protein, and you’re eating that, and it’s not as if you take a magic pill and all of a sudden, boom, you’ve got all this energy and you’ve got the strength to do whatever you need, kind of like the old Popeye cartoons If you’re old enough to remember Popeye, he would open a can of spinach, take it down and all of a sudden you saw muscle just form in his arms and he could fight and do anything and overpower anything. Because he ate his spinach. And we tend to caricaturize all of the things that God does for us and you have to understand. God uses supernatural things and they are shown through natural things to help us understand the supernatural. So we eat and that substance then carries us for hours, if not days. It sustains us.

Well, the word of God, the reason that David also said that this word has. He hid in his heart that he might not sin against God. So there’s a continual putting him in the word. So when the trap comes, when the temptation comes, that word can come out and be a guardian against whatever those decisions and those traps might be. The same is true that we know of the spirit that it says that he searches the deep things of God by the spirit. All of a sudden, what we have studied, there’s a scripture that says that he will bring to our remembrance. He will bring it back to our remembrance what he has taught us.

So when you have studied the word and you have put that word in you, you just read it over and over again, you just digest it, you just chew on it, you just eat it. It’s like a cow who’s chewing that grass and he’s got several stomachs and he has to chew it up and he takes it down, but it has to come back up and he’s got to chew it some more and he puts it back down and he comes back up and he chews it some more. This is the word of God. We have to chew on this word and when we need it, we could face something suddenly. And when we need it, we could face something suddenly. And the Lord, if we have been good in eating, if we have taken in the nourishment we were supposed to at the point of need, all of a sudden here comes that we need that word comes up, that knowledge, that wisdom, that remembrance of what we need.

I used to pray that when I would study before a test in school and I would say, lord, you said that you would bring back to my remembrance what I was taught. And so I have taken all of this in. And I’m asking you, when I go in to take this test, that you will bring back to my remembrance what I have studied, that the things that I have learned. I have been truly taught by them and that I can remember them. And that’s the power of the word of God.

We take it in and that’s the power of the word of God. We take it in, but it’s not as if it goes in and dissipates. It sustains us, it carries us. He makes us to lie down in green pastures. You have a huge pasture that can continually feed you over and over for days, months, years. This word get in it every day. Eat of it. Let the good shepherd feed you and that will sustain you, that you won’t be in want or need. When the need quote unquote arises, you will have it. It will be there for you.

Now he makes us do that. Why? Because if we don’t, if we don’t partake of that, if we don’t have that, we will have lack. That’s why the Lord tells you commands, gives commands, disciplines us, because we need these things. Why do you think the scripture says that it’s you need to make sure that you get to the house of God, that you don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Why? Because you need that. You actually need that. So he’s not being harsh, he’s not being unreasonable, he’s not being a hard taskmaster when he tells you I expect you to obey, because that obedience is what will take care of you, sustain you and meet your needs.

To not obey is not only rebellion, it’s foolishness, it’s craziness. When we don’t obey, we are hurting ourselves. He does know better. He really does. And if you think you know better than you’re the fool, we will find out when it’s too late that we were the fool. That that the arrogance and pride to think that I would know better than God. How is that even possible? The one who stands outside of it all, who created it all? And I am simply a created being who was impacted by every crazy secular thing all around me every day, all day long.

How important it is to stay next to the shepherd, to eat and partake of what he is providing for me and to take it by obedience. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. What does it mean to lead? This is beautiful. To lead means to, and we’re going to. You’re going to see this word lead in more than one place.

To lead means to conduct. Think of an orchestrator who conducts an orchestra, someone who conducts. To lead is to conduct, to orchestrate. I need the Lord I don’t know how you feel about this I need him. So many scriptures say order my steps according to your word, lord. I need him. The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. We have to understand what that means To lead, to lead for the good shepherd to lead me means he is orchestrating. That’s why I’m supposed to follow him. He leads, I follow. If I want to get to what he’s preparing for me, I have to follow. He conducts, he orchestrates. He’s putting it all together. He’s taking all the different sounds and elements and places and people and he’s making this beautiful orchestration beautiful for your life, this beautiful orchestration beautiful for your life. I would say I wrote down these things because this is what I was as I was writing this and thinking on this. Lord, do this in me, orchestrate my way, orchestrate my path, orchestrate my attitudes. My attitudes Orchestrate my attitudes, my attitudes Orchestrate my emotions, orchestrate my desires, orchestrate my relationships, orchestrate my plans, my life, orchestrate, lord, lead me. Lead me. It means to lead forth. Okay, so forward. Shockingly, it also means to lead back.

Sometimes, folks, sometimes we go somewhere and we need him to lead us back. Have you ever gotten off course, ever been following the Lord and you just don’t know what happened? Somewhere along the way you realized you’re lost and you’ve gotten off course and you think, lord, I don’t know where to go from here, I don’t know what to do. And you start questioning him Lord, I don’t know what to do, what should I do in this circumstance, and what does he want us to do?

I heard this really good piece of wisdom once and I wish I could tell you who it came from. I’m sure it was a pastor or minister. But they said if you don’t know the next thing to do, go back to the last thing that God told you to do. Go back to the last thing and just do that until he gives you a new instruction. And sometimes we have to be led back, sometimes we just have to go back. Has he ever told you yeah, I want you to go back and fix that. I want you to go back and do that again. I want you to go back and do that again. I want you to go back. Change the attitude. I want you to go back this time. Do it the way I tell you. I want you to go back and rest. You got ahead of me, it wasn’t time yet, it wasn’t prepared yet.

We understand this in many areas of life, but we tend to not understand it in our walk with the Lord, when we just want what we want. We want to do it when we want. We are stubborn and stiff-necked, just like Jesus said of the children of Israel. We are stubborn and stiff-necked people and we want what we want. We’re spoiled so many times. We’re so blessed by the Lord that we’re spoiled and it’s a knowledge that if a baby comes too early, that baby’s going to struggle. They’re going to struggle to live. They might have some health issues that have to be worked through. It’s going to take a lot of extra care, it’s going to be difficult and it could be a long, lasting, if not lifelong struggle. We want those babies to go full term. We want them to be healthy.

We understand timing, that there is a right time, and yet when we get an idea in our head, or if God tells us, gives us vision for a future and what’s to come, and we go charging on a head, but we’re not following his leading. We’re just running off. Most times, we’re going to end up in that ditch or we’re going to get to something before it’s prepared. Why has Jesus not called us home yet? Well, because he said I go away, that I might prepare a place for you. So he’s preparing a place. It’s not finished yet. If it was finished, he would take us. Whatever he’s preparing for us. There is a preparation involved and it takes following his leading to make sure that we are where we’re supposed to be when we’re supposed to be there. Now, where is he leading? That’s what leading is. It also means oh, this is good, I don’t want to leave this out. It means to guide, to bring.

Have you ever had someone said, uh, gone somewhere you’ve never been before? I was recently in a restaurant and the layout of the restaurant was was kind of odd, and you had. The men’s restroom was literally right next to the station that you check in at and wait for your table, and you would assume that the women’s restroom would be somewhere close to where the men’s restroom was. It wasn’t even close, it wasn’t even in the same room, and so when I got up from the table and I was going to go find the restroom. As I got to that counter, a young lady said to me are you looking for the women’s restroom? I said yes. She says let me take you there. So she led me to and brought me to the restroom. So that word means to bring to literally.

Sometimes you can have a leading and you could just be following. You’re following the restroom. So that word means to bring to literally. Sometimes you can have a leading and you could just be following. You’re following the leader. You kind of know the way it’s a little bit blind. Or the leader gives you an instruction, you follow that instruction, but sometimes they literally take you by the hand, so to speak, and lead you and bring you there.

It can mean bestowed, mean bestowed. God could be leading you. I thought this was so fascinating that in the Hebrew this word lead can mean bestow, which means something in his leading that he is giving to you, that he is providing for you. He is bestowing unto you something in that leadership. And how valuable that is. If you’re a leader, if you’re someone who has to lead anybody, let alone lead yourself, the things that you actually need to be led in that process. In that process he provides that for you. In the leading, he bestows you with what you need along the journey. That’s part of his leadership to give you what you need along the way. To bestow it means to put. If he needs to put you somewhere, his leadership will put you where you need to be. I like to pray Lord, put me in the right place at the right time, with the right people, for the right reason and for your purpose. It means to transport, to transport. Remember when Philip was transported, that was being led by the good shepherd. He had to literally be transported.

Have you ever been in a train of thought about something and all of a sudden your mind goes to something else? You’re somewhere else, you’re thinking about something else, something you forgot. This happens to me a lot and I didn’t realize this was. I knew the Holy Spirit was reminding me of something that I needed to remember and I was forgetting. It could be something as simple as an appointment. I could get busy in something and forget that I had something I had to do or get accomplished and there could be a timeframe on that and I could be literally really engrossed in what I’m doing and all of a sudden, just like that, I’m transported and I remember everything I need to do. I stopped right then. The Lord was right on time, like an alarm clock going off, and I did what I needed to do and got done. He was leading me. That’s the power of the Holy Spirit right there, leading us. The good shepherd leads us.

It also means to govern. To govern that’s really good too, because if you think about leading, this is easily seen in the governmental realm that we live in in our society, that to govern is to lead. They are the leaders of the we’ll say the leader of the free country. Right, um, he’s the president, is the leader of the free world. Um, to lead is a governing position, which means that God’s authority over my life is is made manifest as I allow him to lead and I follow. Does that make sense that I stay under the covering of his governing If I am following his leading? I want that because his governing is perfect. His governing is just. His governing is all sufficient. There is nothing that, again, that I lack, that I will have need of if I am under the governance, under his protection, under his rule. He rules and reigns over my life. His governing is not only what sustains and protects me and the things that I follow and do out of obedience, but it is also that he governs and rules. That means he has the final say. He gets to say what is going to be, he gets to mandate the goodness of God and his plan for my life. He is in the place of governing as he leads me.

Now, this particular verse, verse three or, sorry, the last part of verse two says that he leads me beside still waters, still waters. Why did he, why did a good shepherd have to lead them besides still waters? That is because sheep, by nature, if the waters are not very slow moving still waters, the sheep are afraid because those sheep, if that water is coming too fast and too hard, a sheep will not go drink. The fear of being taken away and carried away by the river is innate in the sheep and they will not go to the water and drink. They will thirst, they will go thirsty, and so the shepherd would find places of still waters. You know, think of a. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen that app called Calm. I’m sure there’s many of them and there’s probably YouTube videos all over the place, as you can see this, but of like a little babbling brook, and how peaceful that is and the sound is soothing and the water is refreshing and they drink and they will gladly go and take in the refreshment that they need from the water.

The Lord knows what your fears are. He knows how to lead you to a place of safety and peace that you can drink from his provision. That you can drink from what he is providing for you to take it in to refresh you. That he’s not going to lead you to a place full of danger and uncertainty. If you have to go that way, which we’re going to talk about in a minute, you can understand it’s not as dangerous as you think it is, but we can follow along and know that we are safe. He will lead you to the place of calm and peace and refreshment, the place of calm and peace and refreshment. He leads me. So he leads me besides still waters. He leads me in paths of righteousness.

For his name’s sake, what is it to have a righteous path? What does that mean? That we know what it means to lead now. So it’s the same meaning for lead. We know what that looks like to be led, but to be led in a path of righteousness. What does that mean? This path of righteousness means accuracy, that you’re actually walking where you’re supposed to walk. Accuracy To walk in what is correct, to not miss it, to not pick the wrong thing. To walk in what is honest, to walk in equity that you are walking in the um. So many scriptures talk about that. God cares about a balanced weight, what is just and right. And this righteousness means that you walk your life in equity, means that you walk your life in equity. What is um? Communal loyalty? I thought that was really interesting. This word right here righteousness, he leads us in paths of righteousness literally means communal loyalty, that you, he will lead you in a path that part of the righteousness of that path is that it benefits your community. It’s communal loyalty that it’s not just good for you, it’s good for everyone you touch, it’s good for everything that surrounds you. Communal loyalty I thought that was so fascinating.

Righteousness means salvation that you are walking saved. You have his salvation along the walk. I mean, how many times we can say I’m a Christian but I came up against things that I needed God to save me in, that I needed saving. I’ve prayed that many times, lord, even though I am saved, I need you to save me. Save me again. You’re the savior, save me. It also means wellbeing. Righteousness means wellbeing that he will lead you in a path that is well for your being. It is good for you, your wellbeing, for your being. It is good for you, your wellbeing. It’s to walk in a way that is just, it’s justness, to walk in a way that is fair and right and good.

This was my favorite. I actually laughed when I read this because it just proves we don’t know what this really is. But righteousness means normal, normal. Do you realize our society right now? Everyone is trying to define what normal is and it’s crazy, crazy. It’s not normal. And he’s saying my way, that I lead you in my righteous path, is actually what’s normal. My way is normal. If you read it in my word, that’s actually what normal is, not what the world says, not what their new ideas, not what their godless ideas, not with their new ideas, not with their godless ideas. God’s way is normal. If you want to live a normal life, free from the chaos and the crazy, you need to be led in paths of righteousness. That is what normal is. I just thought that was great Normal.

Who would have thought he leads us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake? Okay, what does that mean? His name’s sake? It means to show God as he really is. A few weeks back you can look back in previous episodes I did an episode on not taking the name of the Lord in vain what that really means to take his name in vain. And when you do something for his name’s sake, you know we’ll say there was this is true of me.

There was a. There’s a family that they are family friends, long, long time family friends. And this particular couple knew me from the time I was a little girl and grew up. And when they had a daughter, they named her Jamie. And she said she’s your namesake, Meaning we saw things in you. I mean, it was such an honor to me, it’s still an honor to me. And boy did she outdo me. She’s phenomenal me. And boy did she outdo me. She’s phenomenal. But they named her Jamie because they after my namesake not just my name, but there were characteristics they said we watched you do this or we saw you do that and we wanted our daughter to be like that. So we’ve named her Jamie. Well, that touched my heart. We’ve named her Jamie. Well, that touched my heart, that that means so much to me, that’s so valuable to me. But that’s a namesake. Someone who is a junior is a namesake right, they’re named after that person. So many times it’s because it’s the you’re wanting to show, the characteristics or the character of the one that is that the name represents.

So if he leads us in paths of righteousness for his namesake, he’s saying I’m leading you down these righteous paths, the ones I just told you about, and I’m doing it for my namesake, it for my namesake. In other words, I want the walk that you walk to show me to look like me for my namesake. Walk righteous so that people know I stand for righteousness. Be my mirror to the world, be my namesake. Do it for the purpose of what that does, for bringing glory to my name, for my purposes. Go down this road because I have a purpose in it and you’ll accomplish my purpose and it will look like me and show forth me. Show people what I’m like. Show them what I can do. Walk in that path so that it is for my name’s sake. He leads us in paths of righteousness. For his name’s sake, don’t misrepresent God. Let’s let him lead, let’s follow his lead. Have you ever heard people say that Follow my lead. What are they saying? I’m going to show you how to do it. Do it like I do it.

Paul said follow me as I follow Christ. Right, follow me as I follow Christ. There’s a path of righteousness that brings glory to God. It brings blessing and governing and protection and equity and all of those things that leadership brings into your life, and at the same time, it brings glory and honor to his name. Verse four even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. We often quote this because of we’ll be at a funeral and people will quote this verse, and it comforts us to know that while we’re walking through having to say goodbye to a loved one or a friend or someone who means something to us, this scripture comforts us because we’re saying I don’t have to fear evil while I deal with this. But it’s much more than that. That is accurate, that’s good, that’s a blessing, but this is for the one walking in the shadow, not for the one who’s passed. They’re living in their promise now if they walked with Jesus. But I want you to think about this.

Last week we were going to lunch after church service and as I was walking, my granddaughter came up behind me and she goes look, mimi, I’m walking on your. What did she call me? She called it. She didn’t say shadow, she’s on your. She called it. She didn’t say shadow, she’s on your. Oh, I can’t think of what she called it. Anyway, she didn’t say shadow, but she meant shadow, and she said look, and she would step on it and say I’m in your, you know, in your shadow. Whatever word she used, I’m in your shadow.

And that’s if you, if you get that picture of a shadow, this is when you’re walking through a valley, a place where you feel like you are stuck. What is a valley? You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Right, you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and you are going through the valley. And as you’re going through this valley because we’ll talk about having mountaintop experiences but when we’re down in the valley, what does that represent to us, being down in the valley? So you’re already down in the valley, right, you are down in the valley, but you are walking through this valley and you see shadows, shadows of death, shadows of things that frighten you.

As a child, we tend to think that there’s a monster around the corner because we see this giant shadow. If you ever watched old cartoons, there’d be the little mouse in Tom and Jerry and Jerry would be back there doing this. And he’s this tiny little mouse and he’s, and what he’s doing is there’s a light behind him and it’s casting a shadow on the wall and it looks like this giant monster is there and Jerry would go running or, I’m sorry, tom would go running the cat, because he was afraid this giant thing was coming after him. And it was simply this little mouse. And the Lord is reminding us. I know you’re afraid, I know it looks scary.

You see shadows everywhere. They’re a shadow. Shadows are always much larger than the actual thing that you’re looking at, much larger. The light is showing forth a much larger image. But the beauty of seeing a shadow means that there’s light. The only reason you can see the shadow is because the light is so big and present. You don’t see shadows when the sun is gone. He’s walking with us. The light of the world walks with us through those valleys. Those things are much smaller.

Why does the word tell us that if we will magnify the Lord, spend time thinking about him, thinking about his attributes, thinking about what he’s done, lifting up our voice and bringing praise and glory to his name and letting our faith rise. Why? Because, as the old song says, that when we do that, everything else seems to fade away. It becomes so small. It becomes so small to have the light of Jesus walk with us. He says when you’re walking, even through the valley of the shadow of death, even me, your presence, your warmth, you’re with me. Why am I not afraid that you’re with me? What do you bring with you to protect me? Your rod and your staff. They comfort me. A rod andhana staff this is beautiful.

Aradhana staff represents two things. It represents both discipline and protection. It represents both discipline and protection. The rod is a symbol of authority. It’s the thing that he uses if he needs to beat off an enemy, but he also needs to correct us right. We have to be corrected sometimes. The rod of authority. The scripture tells us spare not the rod, because you’ll spoil the child. There’s actually several references to the rod. In fact, the rod of God Moses walked with his rod. There’s actually several references to the rod. The rod of God, moses walked with his rod. He was the one who had authority. Yet it was that rod of authority that made the way. It was the way of provision, it was the way of miracles. And God walks with you. He brings his rod, but he also brings his staff. His staff is the symbol of his shepherding, his caring for us, his protection over us. His rod and his staff. They comfort me. His discipline comforts me. Why? Because if I stay in the disciplines of God, I am safe from the outside things that would normally be a temptation or a hindrance or a problem to me.

Disciplining myself to be in the word means the word is in me and it’s ready. That word is ready when I need it. That word comes out when I need it. It’s an on-time word when we are those who have made ourselves ready. The bride of Christ has made herself ready for Jesus’s return. She doesn’t get ready once he comes. She makes herself ready so that when he comes she is ready. This is what discipline does with us. We make ourselves ready. We are disciplined by the word. We are disciplined by our shepherd. We are disciplined.

Jesus says that the father disciplines us. That’s good, because if he doesn’t discipline you, then he doesn’t, that you’re not his, you’re not his if he doesn’t discipline you, but because you belong to him. There are disciplines that are given to us and expectations in those disciplines that are put on us so that we will be ready, not so that someone’s being hard on you. When a soldier goes into boot camp, he is put to the test day after day after day to be made ready for the day of battle. So when the day comes he is already prepared. He knows what he needs to do and knows how to do it. It goes back to in the leadership.

I have been bestowed what I need. During those times of leading that I have followed him and the bestowing is like saying, if I’m in bootcamp, okay, they gave me the mindset that I needed, they trained my mind and the learning that I needed. I understand combat. I understand battles. I understand um how to clear a room. I understand how to um help my fellow soldier if he’s down and it’s up to me to carry him out. If someone’s wounded, I know how to take care of their wounds. I have been schooled in war and I understand the battle. I understand the battle plans. I understand strategies. I also understand I’ve been bestowed my weapons.

Why do we need weapons? Because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. You’re, you have been bestowed my weapons. Why do we need weapons? Because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. You’re, you have been bestowed weapons If you follow in his leadership and those weapons are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. You need those weapons, but those weapons are given to you through that leading, through that leading following the shepherd. They are bestowed to you so that you are ready, that you are comforted, comforted by a rod and a staff. You understand, you have been made ready. Ready for what? What do you have to be ready for?

Let’s look at verse five. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. I did some study on this. To prepare a table. What does that mean? This will probably surprise you. To prepare a table means that God and his justness and righteousness are laid out before you. Okay, they are laid out before you, literally, like on a table. They are laid out. He makes and prepares a table. You know, women understand preparing a table If you’re putting on a special dinner or a tea or you invite people over and it could be a special tablecloth and candles and flowers, and you know special dishes and silverware and special goblets to drink from and special glasses and and the best China and all the best dishes in the crystal, and you prepare a table for Thanksgiving.

We tend to prepare the table, but what’s interesting is the Lord is saying that he prepares a table with his justness and his righteousness. I already told you what the righteousness means, but what does it mean to prepare it? It means he lays it out, sets it in rows, gets it ready. It means he confronts. He confronts when God sets a table before you in the presence of your enemies. God is setting a table to confront. He’s going to confront that enemy. He is going to stand at that table and confront your enemy. It means he assesses me. It means he assesses. God is looking out and he is assessing everything that your enemy has done and he is laying it all out on a table. He’s making it plain. Can you imagine the enemies of God when they see him lay it all out on the table? Have you heard people ever say that Just put your cards on the table, just lay it all out? They want you to spread it all out and show them.

When I used to watch the show NCIS, and when they would take them into the interrogation room, they would lay out photos and evidence, and lay it all out in order to intimidate, so that the person who they suspect is the one who committed these crimes, the enemy that they will admit to their crimes, because laid before them is all the evidence that they have against them. They’re going to question them, interrogate them, they’re going to confront them. They’re going to assess everything about them and what they’ve done. This is what God does with our enemies he prepares a table before us, he confronts them so that he will contend in battle. When God prepares a table before you, in the presence of your enemies, it says that God is getting ready to contend in battle. They’re not going to be battling you. You’re going to be sitting at the table. God is going to contend in battle while you sit at his banqueting table and feast.

Have you ever heard the term? They’re going to get their just desserts. That’s exactly what I thought of when I thought of this that he is setting the table to give them their just desserts. What the enemy deserves God’s going to give them, because God is just To prepare a table means God’s justness and his righteousness. You will sit at his table. Can you imagine what that does to your enemy? While they watch, you watch, god bless you watch as you get to eat. It’s literally like having them lined up in rows. That’s what this meant to line and set up in rows. God sets all the enemies of you, all of your enemies, spiritual and otherwise, sets them all out so they can see you at a table that he has prepared and you get to partake of that table and they have nothing they can do but watch and get ready for God’s contending with them. Watch, you get blessed. Watch you take of what God has done for you. You get to soak in the victory of what God’s done. You don’t have to lift your finger to battle. God is going to contend for you. He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies. You in the presence of your enemies. You anoint my head with oil. You anoint my head with oil.

Several things that this encompasses, but if we’re talking simply about sheep right now, sheep, um, they, when they’re out in the pastures, you have the problem of insects and flies. I watched a video once and it was really awful to see this poor sheep was being tormented. The flies were swarming and surrounding his head. Well, that should not be so. What did the his head? Well, that should not be. So. What did the shepherd go do? Because that will drive you nuts, folks. I get driven nuts by a gnat in a human form. I’m a human, and when a gnat is constantly flying in my face you’re just trying to get it, it drives me crazy. I’m sure it drives you crazy too. Or a fly that just won’t go away. I mean, it’s just crazy with flies and gnats, and they’re just tormenting little beasts. They really are. I can’t stand them, them and ants. I can’t stand flies, gnats and ants. Anyway, what it does is it literally will cause the poor sheep to go insane. It really will.

And so the shepherd, the good shepherd, comes and he anoints the head of the sheep with oil, and that oil is literally a repellent. The flies and the gnats and the insects will stay away, so that the sheep can have peace of mind. Peace of mind, do you need peace in your mind today? We say Lord. Do you need peace in your mind today? We say Lord, anoint my head with oil, let it run over my eyes so that I see and what I do see, lord, that it is not troubling to me. Let the anointing oil flow over my ears, that what I hear is not troublesome and bringing chaos into my mind, but that I have the peace of God that passes all understanding, that guards my heart and my mind. Let your anointing oil cover me. That’s what the anointing for the sheep does. It’s a repellent. To protect them and give them peace. Them and give them peace, peace. He anoints their head with oil.

Now, if you want to look at that in the sense that King David, who was a shepherd, stood out, had to be brought out from the sheep before Samuel, the prophet, samuel, and Samuel sadly, his brothers at the time treated him as an enemy, and God laid a table out in front of David, prepared a table before him in the presence of his enemies, and Samuel anointed his head with oil and said I choose you. I choose you, david. You’re a man after my own heart, though he was a boy. I heard a wonderful message preached once and it said that there is a boy in every king and there is a king in every boy. What we see right now, we go back to the beginning of the psalm. We think we’re insufficient, that we’re less than. We haven’t arrived yet. We’re not living in the promise that God has spoken to us yet. Not yet. But you will not lack. You won’t be in want. You won’t be in want with him. You’re not less than. That’s what that means to not be in want. Remember that we are not less than. Let me take you to that feeling to help you know what it is to not be in want.

We’ll look real quickly at Luke 15, and I’m going to be looking from the parable of the lost son. This is the prodigal son and I’ll read through this quickly. But it says a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So he divided to them his livelihood and not many days after the younger son, gathered all together, journeyed to a far country and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all there, arose a severe famine in that land and he began to be in want. He began to be in want, so what was the scripture saying? He didn’t have what he needed. He’d become less than he used to live in. His father’s castle palace had every provision, the wealth and everything that he ever needed. He’s now squandered it and is hiring. He has to hire himself out. He is now in want. He’s less than he’s going to go feed the pigs.

For a Jewish, jewish person, that was the ultimate disgrace. It’s the ultimate kind of natural debauchery, if you could say it that way. Because the pigs lived in filth, they were a dirty animal, they were unclean, they weren’t to mess with pigs, they didn’t raise pigs. He had to go to a far country, to a people who raised pigs. Something that is unclean to him, something that is uncouth to him, is below him. And now he’s not only raising them, and they’re unclean and they aren’t supposed to touch them. He has no choice but to hire himself out to care for the pigs. And he is so hungry he’s not walking in green pastures, he’s not being led by still waters. He’s so hungry he wishes he could eat the pods that are being fed to the pigs, slop the slop of the pigs, and he’s wishing he could eat the slop of the pigs. He’s so hungry, he’s so in want.

What was the antidote? What was the answer? When he came to himself. Let’s go to verse 17. But when he came to himself, let’s go to verse 17. But when he came to himself he said how many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough to spare? See, they were following that leadership. They had plenty. They were not in want. They have plenty, enough, bread enough and to spare.

And I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and will say to him father, I have sinned against heaven and before you and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he still was a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and no longer am worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants bring out the best robe, put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and bring the fatted calf here and kill it and let us eat and be merry for this. My son was dead and is alive again. He is lost and he is found. He was lost and is found and they began to be merry.

I know I’m jumping the gun here, but before I finish this, I just want to remind you. If you feel discouraged right now and feel like you’ve gotten off course, feel like you’re the sheep who’s jumped into that ditch, you can come to yourself right now. If you find yourself in want, you can come to yourself right now and you could say Lord, lord, forgive me. I’m asking, lord, lead me, be my shepherd, I will follow you. Remember the definition for leading Sometimes it means to lead forth, sometimes it means to lead back. Maybe you have to come back to the Lord, maybe you need to be led back to the fold, back to the Father’s house. Okay, before I get completely finished, I want to finish this part up. We’re almost done. Hang in there with me, just give me a few more minutes. He anoints my head with oil.

My cup overflows, my cup overflows. That word overflows literally means saturation, saturated. If you’ve ever done, I thought of when I’ve done laundry and before I got a new washing machine, it would get that if I was doing towels or big heavy blankets and the machine was not turning the stuff properly and so it would get stuck and I would try to rebalance the things that were in the drum of the washing machine so that it could spin properly, and the clothes, the towels and the sheets and blankets or whatever would be so saturated the weight. Trying to lift them up just so that I could reposition them was took every bit of strength that I had. They were saturated. I mean you couldn’t put any more moisture into them. They were saturated.

And the blessing of walking in the leadership, under the leadership, leadership and following the good shepherd is that my cup overflows. I can’t. I’m so full of every good blessing that he has for me. There’s no room for more. I am saturated. I have hit saturation. There is no more that can be put in me. It just runs over the overflow. Now there’s so much. It literally rolls off of me now and it’s filling other cups. It’s filling everybody else around me, it’s touching everybody else. It’s a beautiful picture of the abundance of God, what he does for us.

My cup overflows, surely. That word surely, surely goodness and mercy. That word surely means, with a restrictive force, emphasizing what follows in contrast to what has preceded, which means he’s saying no matter what you’ve seen before, no matter what your life has gone, whatever you’ve gone through in your life, no matter what’s in your past or where you come from, if you will allow the good shepherd to lead you, if you will follow the good shepherd, no matter what’s behind you. Today is a demarcation point for you. Today is a demarcation point for you Going forward, going forward, there will be nothing but goodness and mercy coming from the good shepherd to you. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. What is the follow me? It means after I have done the walk of obedience and followed his leading. What comes after, what follows after that will be the goodness and the mercy.

So don’t get hung up on this, because so many times you can be walking through that moment of having to be discipled, to be disciplined, to follow his leadership, surrounded by enemies on every side, and you might be thinking I don’t feel or see God’s goodness yet and I don’t see or feel God’s mercy yet. That’s because it’s after you have followed. Those things follow you. Those things come after, not before, not in the midst. They follow after. They are your reward, so to speak. They are the blessing that will overtake you because they follow you. If they follow the obedience. Don’t look too early, don’t be discouraged If you don’t see it yet. It’s coming, it’s coming. That’s why it says surely you got to saying this is an a definite. That word is an assertive word. It means from now on. It’s assertive, it’s emphasis of a truth.

He is emphasizing the very truth of this statement. Surely, goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now you might think you know what that means At face value. Okay, I’m going to dwell in the house of the Lord. You could be thinking in eternity, I will dwell in his house forever. You could think I will continually go to church and be in his house to dwell in the house of the Lord. I looked up that word dwell. I was surprised. I was very surprised what that meant. I think I thought it meant to live in, like to dwell. You have a dwelling place someplace where you live. This is what that word dwell meant.

This is out of the Strong’s Concordance To turn back to God, to return to God, to give back to God, to repay, to convert from evil, to restore and to do again. That made such a much larger, much more profound picture to me. I shall dwell in his house forever. It means I will continually come back to his house, I will continually turn toward God. I will continually turn from evil. I will continually try to live a life that repays him for the gift of salvation. I can’t repay him, but my life is a living sacrifice because of what he’s done for me. To dwell in his house forever is to continually turn to God, is to continually turn to God over and over again, no matter the circumstance, no matter if like we read at the very beginning if I’m in a position because of my own doing, if I’m in want and need because of my own doing. Just like the prodigal son, he began to be in want because of his own doing. He brought it on himself and yet his father welcomed him home. He went back to his father’s house. He returned again. He turned from the evil. Do you understand? The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is your shepherd. Today let him lead you. And if you have been far from him, today’s your day to come back. Today’s the day to come to yourself and realize I am in want and I need to turn back to my father’s house, where there is plenty, where he will forgive me and love me and restore me. He will provide for me.

In closing, I saw this beautiful little post from a woman named Torchy Swinson. Torchy Swinson, I saw her on Instagram and Torchy took the 23rd Psalm and this is how she broke it down, and this is going to be how I finish today. If you want to go, look that up and see that for yourself, torchy T-O-R-C-H-Y Swinson, s-w-i-n-s-o-n, I want to give her credit. This is from her and she said the Lord is my shepherd. That’s relationship I shall not want. That’s supply. He makes me lie down in green pastures. That’s rest. He leads me beside still waters. That’s refreshment. He restores my soul. That’s healing. Oh my goodness, folks, I just realized I had skipped over. He restores my soul. Oh my goodness. He restores my soul. Okay, Just quickly.

Everything that has ever happened to you that has caused you to have a soul ache, a deep soul ache, whatever has broken your heart, whatever has hindered you and blocked you and it’s stuck in your soul. You find yourself making decisions because of that brokenness. You can’t get over certain things. You fear certain things. You react to things a certain way because of the condition of your soul. He restores our soul. That’s the picture. I want you to get the picture real quickly and we’ll move back. We’ll continue.

But the potter and the clay, it says while he was making the pot, that the pot, while he was forming it, was marred in his hand. There was a scarring, there was a problem, something happened and it caused a problem to be marred. And if it would have been left like that, it would forever show that scarring and that marring and it would forever change its usefulness. But what does it say that the potter did? He took it and he made it new. He removed that, he healed that and he made the vessel anew.

That is what your good shepherd will do for your broken heart. He restores your soul, the very core of who you are. He loves you and he restores your soul. That’s healing. He leads me in paths of righteousness. That’s guidance For his namesake. That’s purpose.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, that’s testing. I will fear no evil. That’s protection, for you are with me. That’s because he’s faithful. Protection for you are with me. That’s because he’s faithful. Your rod and your staff. They comfort me. That’s discipleship, discipline. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. That’s hope. You anoint my head with oil. That’s consecration. My cup overflows. That’s abundance. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. That’s blessing. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That’s security and eternity.

Let me pray for you today, heavenly Father. You are our good shepherd and we call on you. Today we say lead us, oh God, lead us, good shepherd, protect us, take care of us. Protect us, take care of us. Father, you are the one who shields us, who comforts us, who heals us, who provides for us. Everything we need is found in you.

Lord, I’m asking that you do the miraculous today. Move on behalf of your sheep. Today, pull those out of the ravine who need saving God. Move on behalf of your sheep today, pull those out of the ravine who need saving God, who have, by their own doing, found themselves trapped. Lord, for those who are surrounded by enemies, give them justice. Prepare a table before them in the presence of their enemies.

For those who are battling with their mind, lord, anoint their head with oil today, oh God, call them out. They are not less than they are the appointed. They are the chosen. Oh God, call them out. They are not less than they are the appointed. They are the chosen, oh God. We ask you, lord, that you would protect them and bring peace to their hearts if they’re walking through the testing of the valley, that they do not have to fear, oh God, that you will feed them, you will nourish them, you will quench their thirst. As the deer pants for the water, so my soul pants after thee.

God, that’s what we say of you today. We want you, we need you. Help us to be preparing today so that we are ready in the day that it is called on us, that the word that we have learned today is hidden in our heart, that we are able to use it to wield our sword the day of battle, god, that you will comfort us and keep us and that we are secure in you, and that everything that we have you are supplying today Cause your people to know your presence, to know your power, to know that you are closer than a brother, that you have never left them. You will never leave them, you will never forsake them the good shepherd never leaves them, day or night. That you will watch over them and you give yourself up for them. You are our good shepherd. We say thank you. We receive every good blessing that you would bestow on us today, and it’s in Jesus name. We pray Amen.

Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I pray that this word was a blessing to you. Maybe share this with somebody that you know needs the encouragement. Hit that like button and the subscribe button. Get notified when a new episode comes out. I don’t know. I’ll probably send you an email or something. You could also visit my website, jaimelucecom, or send me an email at mail at jaimelucecom. I’d love to hear your prayer requests and testimonies. Thank you again for spending time with me today. God bless you.