In Psalm 23 David refers to God as his shepherd. This begs the question: In what way is God like a shepherd? David teaches that God is like a shepherd in at least five ways. In this post we’ll look at the fourth way. David says:
God is my shepherd in that he protects me.
David wrote in Psalm 23:4a “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me…” You see, in between the mountains that the sheep would graze on were the valleys. The rocky walls of the valleys were filled with caves and ample hiding place for lions and bears that sought to prey on the sheep. But even in the valley with danger all around, a sheep with a good shepherd had nothing to fear. It was probably in one such valley that David killed the lion and the bear that attacked his sheep as a teenager. Thinking on this experience David concludes: If I can protect my sheep, how much more so can God protect his!
David had many experiences where God protected him. One such instance is found in 1 Samuel 23:26 where David and his men are in the desert of Maon. Saul’s forces were closing in. The Bible says that David his men were on one side of the mountain and that Saul and his men were on the other. So here’s David in the valley on one side of the mountain with Saul closing in on him. David thinks: This is it! Saul’s finally going to get me! But just when death seemed immanent, Saul gets word that the Philistines were attacking. Saul calls off the chase to address this immanent Philistine threat. David was in the valley of the shadow of death but God kept him safe.
Like David, I can say that God is my Shepherd in that he protects me. As a teenager I once fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the double solid line in the middle of the road, went into oncoming traffic, went up the curb, smashed into a tree, and skidded across a lawn stopping just short of the house. But as God kept David safe, God kept me safe.
Now God protected David from his enemies, but he also protected David from himself – from making foolish decisions that would ruin the future God had for him. In 1 Samuel 29 David is so tired of Saul chasing him that he decides to team up with the Philistines and go to war against the Israelites. This would have certainly ruined any chance of him becoming king in the future but David’s determined to get some revenge against Saul. But in God’s providence, David and his men are not allowed to join the Philistines. And good thing! This was the very battle in which Saul was killed – the very battle that opened the door for David to become king. God protected David from making a foolish decision.
So we see that God protects us from others and from ourselves. In the instances where we listen to God, we will be spared tragedy. In the instances where we insist on our own way – we will taste of the bitter fruit of disobedience. But if we’ll make God our Shepherd, he will always direct our hearts away from destruction. Unsaved people call this their conscience, but Christians know that guiding voice as the Holy Spirit, who lives within every follower of Jesus. If you’ll make God your Shepherd, then like David you can say: God is my Shepherd in that he protects me.