IS MY
The Lord is my shepherd. He loves me. He knows me and still loves me. I am His and He is mine.
“The LORD is my shepherd” is such an incredible statement. Notice two things that should stand out significantly. “Is my” says many wonderful things.
Present
“Is” is present tense. Even though David was going through horrible times fearing for His life, with enemies on every side, He knew God had not changed. The great “I AM” is. God is always present tense. God is the right now, this instant God. He is the God who tells us to ask for our daily bread. “I AM” tells us “sufficient to the day, “ so don’t worry about things. God, the Father says to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. His unchanging nature is our rock in the storm.
Right now, no matter what is happening in our life, God, the LORD, I AM, is our Shepherd. He doesn’t take us for His sheep on a good day and abandon us on a bad day. He “is” our Shepherd.
He will not be our Shepherd if we do this or that. He is our Shepherd. Don’t forget that He bought us with His blood sacrifice on the cross. He carried our sins. He gave His life for us, and we belong to Him because He created us and brought us back from sin and shame.
The LORD is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in our troubles. He is because His love never fails. Circumstances change, people change, and our feelings change, but “I AM” does not change. He is. He is unchangeable, and He loves us unconditionally and intentionally.
God is not faithful because we are faithful; He is faithful because He can’t be anything else. That is simply who “I AM” is.
He promises and can’t lie. His character never changes; He never wakes up in a different mood. He is the great “I AM,” and He is my Shepherd.
God is in the eternal present, never confined to the past, past memories, or even future possibilities. He is actively engaged with us in every season of life. Our Shepherd loves us in the joyful and the difficult.
We live in an unbreakable covenant relationship with “I AM.” “I AM” lives, loves, and operates in the now, the immediate, the active, and He cares about where we are right now. We are His sheep. He will never leave, forsake, or abandon what belongs to Him. He will never deny Himself and act contrary to who He is.
Personal
He is my Shepherd. Think about how personal that is. That word “my” is for me, mine, myself, and we. “My” is possessive. He is mine, and I am His.
Imagine yourself with a name tag that says “Property of the Good Shepherd.“ Read the psalm and replace “my” with your name.
Picture Jesus the Good Shepherd carrying you on His shoulders, your name engraved on His staff. He calls you by name, knows every detail about you, and still loves you.
When children say “my mommy“ or “my daddy“ they have complete trust and belonging. We say “my shepherd and He says my sheep.” His love for you was so great that He left the 99 to find you, bring you home from your lost state, and celebrate your return.
Your Shepherd guides you. He knows your favorite grazing spots. Jesus knows your favorite foods and loves to see you enjoy life. He pays attention to you. More than I could ever belong to my wife or her to me, Jesus is mine, and I am His.
It’s an intimate, one-on-one relationship where you belong to Him, and He belongs to you. There is a substantial difference between a home and my home. Christ, God, the Holy Spirit are not a good by my God, my Shepherd, my Abba, Daddy.
The LORD is my Shepherd. That means so much that you would do well to meditate on that all day today.