When the Lord is Not My Shepherd - A Contrast from the 23rd Psalm
by Joe Leavell
A contrast of Psalm 23, showing how, if the idols of our heart were our shepherd, would lead us, how they use us, and the path of destruction they leave behind when they fail us:
Verse 1 - When Lust is my shepherd…
I have followed my lust and my desires for pleasure. They have been a constant presence throughout my life. I’ve pursued my passions wherever my heart has led me, while denying myself nothing. It all just left me craving more and more, without being truly satisfied. I’ve fallen into addiction, and now I can’t escape. I feel like I’m captive to my own desires, and I can’t get free of the endless craving for more!
Verse 2 - When greed or avoidance are my shepherd…
Greedily chasing prosperity has made me completely stressed. I can’t rest or find peace, because the moment I do, someone who works even harder than me will take my place. I’ve spent my life hunting down that next dollar and chasing my dreams, but now I am left dry and broken in the desert.
I find myself led again and again into arguments with my spouse and my kids that grow in volume until they roar like a waterfall. No peace. No calm. No tranquility in our home. Just noise, chaos, anger, and frustration, no matter how hard we try!
Verse 3 - When power and peer pressure are my shepherd:
My craving for position, fame, and power has left me exhausted! I’ve exchanged my soul for the world, and my heart has been left cold and lifeless.
My friends have led me down paths that I never thought I’d go. I’ve shared in their wickedness and foolishness that I didn’t know was possible. I did it all with the hope of acceptance, love, and popularity. In truth, they never really cared about me. It was all for their own amusement the entire time.
Verse 4 - When comfort is my shepherd:
I have lived in constant avoidance of hard times and struggles, let alone allowing myself to contemplate my own mortality. I turn my back when others are hurting because their pain makes me feel so uncomfortable! If I’m ever asked how I’m doing, I pretend that everything is OK, no matter how hard or painful my life may have become. I chase after a fantasy existence, but in reality, I’ve been running away from life because I’m afraid, alone, and I don’t know what to do.
My life has been full of undisciplined time wasters. I have scrolled through endless videos, binge watched shows, played video games, and whatever might lighten the heaviness of my heart. These have cheered me up for a while, but then I’m reminded that I’m just at home, trying to escape my lonely life by watching someone else’s life on a screen. The more I spend my time here, rather than seeking true healing from my inner pain and anxieties, the worse it becomes.
Verse 5 - When envy and comparison are my shepherd:
I sit envious, watching my enemies on social media feast and prosper with their picture-perfect existence with their picture-perfect families. I loathe those ideal lives they seem to lead, but mostly because I wish I were them. I am left alone, uninvited into their flawless lives, starving for affection. Someone, maybe anyone will notice me. I try to cope using porn to make me feel wanted, but it’s rotten and fake, and I am left malnourished and starving for love.
My friends? The few I have ignore me unless I’m useful. No one invites me over or wants to be with me unless they want something from me. No one wants me around because they actually like me. I feel more welcome going through a drive thru than I do with my family. My whole family is toxic, and I can hardly talk to any of them anymore without feeling so bitter and unloved.
It feels good for a moment to take out all my frustrations on Twitter and post a story to Instagram. Maybe then I’ll get a few likes and comments. I’ll go back and check again and again, but it only reinforces my loneliness.
My heart is so empty. I feel so parched. No matter where I’ve searched to fill it with significance and purpose, there is just a meaningless void. What’s the point of life? It’s all empty. So what? I continue to work a dead-end job for 40 years so I can retire and have, what, maybe 10 years of health before I start to get sick until I die? None of it satisfies. Nothing matters. My life is empty.
Verse 6 - The fallout from following lesser shepherds: Breaking of relationships and loss of security in our relationship with God:
Anyone heard of second chances? Not me. I know what it’s like to be canceled by just one mistake. No matter what I have tried to do, it’s like bad luck has been following me all my life, and there’s just nothing I can do to shake it! I just can’t catch a break! You’d think people would be more understanding, but instead they’re so vindictive! Everyone wants me to show them grace when they mess up, but if I’m ever the one who needs some mercy…Boom! I never see it!
Cancelled, forgotten, discarded.
I certainly don’t expect I’ll see anything good from God either. Maybe I don’t deserve heaven. I mean, there was a time when I was confident that I was a Christian. Now, you could say I’ve been blinded to all that for a long time. I don’t know for sure what will happen to me when I die because I’ve been living a life that’s all about my lusts, my desires, my wants. I have no security that I belong to the Lord, or where I will go when I die. I’m trapped in a prison of my own making, and I feel like I will live here forever with no way to escape. Somebody, please help me!
Psalm 23, showing where the Lord as our shepherd leads us, how he loves us, and the path of life he brings when he brings us into his peace:
Verse 1
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Verse 2
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
Verse 3
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Verse 4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Verse 5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Verse 6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” – Psalm 23 (ESV)
Questions for Thought:
Where have the desires of your own heart led you? What has been the result?
Do you relate to any of these examples?
How would you write this if you went through Psalm 23 and wrote out your own story?
What would it look like for you to surrender control to the Good Shepherd?
