The LORD Is My Shepherd

Walking with the Shepherd: A Devotional Journey Through Psalm 23 — Devotion 1 of 15

Psalm 23:1 — “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Opening Reflection

Fifteen devotions lie ahead in this journey through Psalm 23 — green pastures, still waters, a table spread in the presence of enemies, an eternal home in the house of the LORD. Before any of that, David begins somewhere else entirely. He does not begin with what he lacks or what he hopes to receive. He begins with a name. “The LORD is my shepherd.” Everything that follows in this psalm — every provision, every comfort, every promise — flows out of this single, foundational declaration. If we rush past it to get to the blessings, we will misunderstand the blessings. Psalm 23 is not a list of things God does. It is the discovery of who God is, and the blessings are simply what naturally follows from knowing Him.

Taking a Devotional View

The word translated “LORD” in Psalm 23:1 is not a generic title. It is God's covenant name, YHWH — the name He revealed to Moses at the burning bush: “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). This is not David describing a distant deity by function. This is David naming the self-existent, eternal, covenant- keeping God of Israel, and then placing Him in the most humble of images: a shepherd. In the ancient Near East, shepherd was a common metaphor for kings and rulers, but David does something striking — he takes a picture of lowly, patient, daily care and applies it to the LORD of Heaven and Sinai. The God who spoke the universe into existence is also the God who tends His flock one sheep at a time.

This picture was not new to David. Jacob, at the end of his life, blessed his grandsons in the name of “the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day” (Genesis 48:15). Asaph would later cry out, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock” (Psalm 80:1). The prophets described a coming day when God Himself would shepherd His scattered people (Ezekiel 34:15; Isaiah 40:11). And in the fullness of time, Jesus stood before Israel and declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). What David sang by faith, the church now sees fulfilled in Christ. The Shepherd of Psalm 23 is not a vague comfort — He is the same LORD who took on flesh to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), who calls His own sheep by name (John 10:3), and who promises that none can snatch them from His hand (John 10:28). Before David ever says “I shall not want,” he has already settled the only question that matters: whose sheep am I? Every fear, every need, every wandering thought in the verses ahead will be answered not by a formula, but by a Person — the LORD who is Shepherd still.

Key Thoughts & Takeaways

Key Thoughts

  • David opens Psalm 23 with identity, not need — the character of the Shepherd is the foundation for every promise that follows (Psalm 23:1).
  • “LORD” is God's covenant name, YHWH, revealed to Moses as the eternal, self-existent God (Exodus 3:14).
  • The shepherd image runs throughout Scripture, from Jacob's blessing (Genesis 48:15) to the prophets' promise of a coming Shepherd-King (Ezekiel 34:15; Isaiah 40:11).
  • Jesus fulfills this picture as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11) and holds them securely forever (John 10:28).

Ask Yourself

  • Do I tend to go to God first for what He gives, or first for who He is?
  • What difference does it make to know that the Shepherd of Psalm 23 is the same LORD who spoke the universe into being?
  • Have I settled, by faith, that I belong to this Shepherd — that I am one of His sheep?
  • As this series unfolds, what would it look like to let every promise be rooted first in the character of the One who gives it?

LORD, before I ask You for anything, let me simply behold who You are. You are the eternal, covenant-keeping God, and yet You have stooped to shepherd me — to know me, lead me, and care for me one day at a time. Thank You that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for me and who holds me securely in His hand. As I walk through this psalm in the days ahead, keep my eyes fixed first on You, so that every green pasture and still water I discover will be received as a gift from the Shepherd I already know and trust. In Jesus' name, amen.

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