I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. The good shepherd loves the sheep. Even the good shepherds of that time usually did not sacrifice their lives for the sheep. But the only good shepherd, Jesus, willingly sacrificed his life to save you and me two thousand years ago. A hired hand who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, when he sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. The sheep know the voice of my shepherd. The voice of the shepherd is the same word, the Bible, which we must listen to, study and meditate on. The good shepherd leads the sheep to green pastures and protects them from accidents and predatory wolves so that they do not perish. The false shepherd brings destruction, but the good shepherd brings life, and this is eternal life that begins with one's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and that never ends.

God is my Shepherd; This is an image that is usually used to refer to kings and is also used many times in the New Testament to describe Christ. God, the All-Knowing Guardian; Able and generous host for us. God wants to anoint us with his spirit, which is usually associated with blessing. David always hoped for God's grace. So do you want God to be your shepherd? Or are you still following the leaders and kings of the world? Ask yourself which is better.

Psalm 23 is probably the most popular of all the psalms. It is a hymn of God's goodness to his people. God is first portrayed as a shepherd, and then as a king. This psalm has been a source of comfort and encouragement to millions of believers over the years, and today it is as fresh and appropriate as when David first wrote it. Jesus may have been thinking of these or other psalms when he said of himself, "I am the good shepherd." A shepherd cares for his sheep and meets all their needs. He guides them to green pastures with quiet waters – symbols of health and freshness. But when God is the Shepherd, he will do much more than this!

God Almighty, who is a merciful God, if we seek refuge in Him and ask Him to deliver us from our pain, He will set us free. This God who frees us from our delusional fantasies is a god who is free and worthy of worship. This God must have freed us from humiliation, rejection, unseen, and bitterness in our lives. He has freed us from the society that has rejected us, from the families that have left us, from the hands of loved ones who do not understand us, and from the bitterness that surrounds us all. He must have enriched our fruitless lives so that by seeing that fruit, others can change their view of us.

A good shepherd loves his sheep. But even good shepherds do not usually sacrifice their lives for their sheep. Only the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, willingly sacrificed his life. The good shepherd owns the sheep. He cares much more about sheep than a hired shepherd. When the hired shepherd sees that the wolf is coming, he runs away and the flock is scattered and destroyed. But the good shepherd protects them.