“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6, NLT

In this beloved song that was deeply personal to him, David reflected on Israel’s communal experience of suffering and pictured God’s people as sheep in need of a loving shepherd. Just as God led the Israelites like sheep out of Egyptian slavery and walked beside them through the deep, dark, dangerous wilderness inhabited by their enemies, so he walks with his children today—even when they pass through “the darkest valley.”

Under the tender care of our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ himself (John 10:11), we will always have everything we need (though not always everything we want!). He faithfully provides us with strength, guidance, discipline, protection, and—what we sometimes need most of all—rest. If you are feeling weak, aimless, undisciplined, vulnerable, or just plain tired, let God be your shepherd. He will not disappoint.

In this life, God’s children are surrounded by enemies yet remain safe, feasting at a table of blessings set by God himself. This is but a foretaste, a preview, of the great “wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9) that believers look forward to with eager anticipation, when all our enemies—including death, pain, and sorrow—will finally be vanquished once and for all. What a glorious hope!