1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
-Psalm 23.1–2
How much beauty is captured in this immortal poetry of the shepherd, King David! How many generations have taken refuge in these words? This psalm reveals to us like no other the most intimate aspects of the pastoral heart of our heavenly Father.
Let’s think for a moment about the character of most verbs. I lack nothing, He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me besides quiet waters, He refreshes my soul, guides me along the right paths, his rod and staff comfort me, He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies, He anoints my head. Even without diving into the grammatical structure of the language, I think it is clear that all verbs have a very similar structure. They are in a passive voice. In each of them, the sheep is the one that receives and not the one that takes action. It receives something from the shepherd: provision, rest, direction, restoration, guidance, encouragement, service, anointing.
We should note that these things are the product of the actions of the shepherd, not the sheep. He, who loves them and desires the best for them, permanently acts so that they can receive everything he considers necessary and indispensable for their well-being. It is not something very difficult to understand; in fact it is a relation of absolutely simple dimensions: they receive, he gives.
Why do I focus on this? For the simple reason that we have many sheep inside the fold, but we still believe it is their responsibility to produce these realities. They are trying to restore themselves or drive to places of delicate pastures. The responsibility of the sheep, however, is only one: to be shepherded. The shepherd takes care of the rest. It only requires the sheep to be willing to be guided, restored, and encouraged, and so on. God is forever the one who gives, the man forever is the one who receives. When we forget this principle, we lose the nature of absolute dependence that is indispensable for a victorious life.
