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The Shepherd's Pursuit: Psalm 23 Reimagined

What if everything you thought about Psalm 23 was shaped more by funeral homes than by the raw, bleeding reality it came from?

Picture this: a broken man crouched in a cave. He's not writing from comfort but chaos. His son wants him dead. His best friend betrayed him. The kingdom is falling apart. His heart is heavy with regret—failures as a father, husband, and king. And from that place of desperation, David writes the most quoted psalm in the Bible.

The Cave, Not the Pasture

Psalm 23 wasn't birthed in a peaceful meadow with sheep nibbling on grass. It came out of the wilderness. Out of running. Out of fear. The "valley of the shadow of death" wasn't poetic language—it was David's actual location. He was a fugitive, not a farmer.

And that context changes everything.

Confidence Before Confession

Right here is where the religious mind starts to short-circuit. Because David doesn't open with an apology, he doesn't start by saying, "Lord, I've failed." He doesn't promise to do better. He begins with something bolder than repentance: "The Lord is my shepherd."

Hold on. David is the man who:

• Let his daughter be violated and did nothing
• Slept with another man's wife and had him killed
• Made choices that led to a national civil war

And yet, he starts with confidence, not guilt. He doesn't say, "Lord, if you'll still have me." He says, "Lord, you're mine. And I'm yours."

The Prodigal Principle

This sounds a lot like that father in Jesus' story, the one who didn't wait for a perfect apology. The son was still filthy from the pigpen, shame still dripping off him—and the father ran. Cut off the rehearsed speech. Wrapped him in love before he had a chance to explain.

That's the kind of Shepherd David knew. This Shepherd doesn't operate on performance but on pursuit.

"I Shall Not Want"—A Declaration Over Time

That phrase—"I shall not want"—carries more than just poetic rhythm. In Hebrew, it speaks to the past, present, and future. David is saying:

• I haven't lacked
• I don't lack
• I won't lack

Because God hasn't changed, even when David had, his Shepherd wasn't faithful because David was—it was because He is.

This isn't motivational; it's not wishful thinking. It's trust rooted in God's character, not the sheep's behavior.

Not a Funeral Psalm, but a Battle Cry

Psalm 23 was never meant just to comfort the dying. It's a declaration for the living. For the desperate. For the ones hiding in caves and trying to figure out if they've blown it too badly to be loved again.

It says the Shepherd comes looking for lost sheep. Not the ones who find their way home. The ones too hurt, too ashamed, too stuck to move. And He doesn't come with a club of punishment. His rod and staff are for protection and rescue. To fight off what's chasing you. To pull you close when you want to run.

Turn Around

If you've been hiding—ashamed, exhausted, feeling disqualified—hear this: the Shepherd isn't waiting for you to clean up your act. He's not waiting for promises you can't keep. He's chasing you. Right now. With the same love that ran to David in a cave and the same love that ran to a p

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Episode Transcript

Austin Gardner (00:01):
Well, I am excited to talk to you about
Psalm 23.
I know that you know the psalm.
I know that you're accustomedto the psalm.
It's a very common psalm.
It's one everybody loves.
It's most often associated withdeath, you know.
I mean, that's what we hear.
You know when you're afraid orwhen you're at the graveyard or

(00:22):
at your funeral home.
And somebody will always readPsalm 23 because it says In the
valley of the shadow of death, Iwill fear no evil, for thou art
with me, thou rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
I want to take you through ajourney through Psalm 23 and
what God has done in that psalmin my life, and I think that it

(00:43):
will excite you.
Now, as we get started.
I do want to read it to youtoday.
I won't read it every time thatwe get together, but I want to
read it to you.
But I'll just start with oneverse.
How about that?
The Bible says the Lord is myshepherd.
I shall not want, and that'show David begins his psalm.

(01:06):
Now, as a boy, I thought thatthe psalm was probably written
when David was a little shepherdboy, but there's too many
things in there that don't makesense about.
When he was a boy, he wouldhave had no idea about the
valley of the shadow of death.
Probably he would have had noidea about enemies threatening
him.
Thou preparest a table beforeme in the presence of mine

(01:26):
enemies.
He would have understood.
You know the things aboutwalking beside still waters and
laying down in green pasture.
I don't know how much he wouldhave understood about the Lord
restoring his soul.
I do think he would haveunderstood something about I'll
fear no evil.
But it seems like this psalmwas most likely written and if

(01:47):
you check out the commentators,most likely this psalm was
written when David was on therun from his son, absalom.
Others say it's possible thatwhen Saul was trying to kill him
.
But anyway, he understandsdeath and he takes and makes it
a part of what goes on withsheep and his knowledge of

(02:08):
shepherds.
I want to take it to you and Iwant to say to you that I
believe it's when David is onthe run from Absalom.
His own son wants him dead.
We'll look at that over andover during this time as we go
through Psalm 23.
His son wants him dead.
His best friend, ahithophel,wants him dead.

(02:30):
Ahithophel was his best friend,a guy.
He'd spent many years with Hisfriend, turned on him and sided
with Absalom against him.
We'll delve into reasons thatmight have happened later, but I
want to bring you to the psalmfirst, because I want to
challenge you to get a hold ofsomething.
Sometimes, when you want to getright with God and when you want

(02:53):
to serve God and when you wantto think about God, you think
about how you got to get rightto come to God.
You think about how you got toget deserving to get God's love
and you think about how you'vegot to do things to get God on
your side and you begin to thinklike that.
I'll be honest, I think youknow that's true.
I think you know that you onoccasion begin to think in terms

(03:15):
of well, I got to earn thislove, I've got to earn this, and
that's just not true.
David, as he begins Psalm 23,says the Lord is my shepherd.
That's where he starts.
He doesn't start with I failedmy son Absalom when Amnon raped
his sister Tamar.
That's two of David's children.

(03:36):
One of his children raped hisother sister.
David did nothing as a parent.
He failed as a parent.
He didn't get in there and helphim.
And so David failed as Amnonraped Tamar.
Then he waited a couple ofyears.
He still hadn't done anythingand Absalom is just blown away
by it.
And Absalom is bothered by it.
He can't stand it.
And Absalom finally steps inand does something because his

(03:58):
dad won't do it.
And then Absalom tries to getthings right with his dad but
his dad won't let him and sohe's failed miserably as a
father.
He wouldn't discipline hischildren.
He wouldn't call them out whenthey did wrong.
He's failed as a husband.
Can I remind you he's gotseveral wives he shouldn't have,
but he has several wives.
Can I remind you that he killedUriah to get ahold of Bathsheba

(04:22):
and to become the husband ofBathsheba?
Can I remind you that he hassexually sinned with Bathsheba
when they weren't married.
He committed adultery, she gotpregnant and he killed her
husband.
Not too good.
Can I remind you that he'sfailed as a king by numbering
his troops and doing a lot ofthings wrong as a king and a
leader of God's people.

(04:42):
You say why do you bring allthat up?
Because I'm afraid that churchand religion has taught you that
you have to earn God's approvalto get God's help.
You don't feel like you can saythe Lord is my shepherd.
When you think I'm off in a farpasture and I'm doing my own
thing, I broke out of the fence,I jumped across the fence, I

(05:03):
ran across the river.
I'm doing my own thing, and soI don't see how God could be my
shepherd.
Simply not true.
David is on the run.
He's probably hiding in a cavesomewhere back in the woods.
His men are around him.
The majority of people areagainst him.
Everybody wants him dead.
His best friend's trying to gethim killed, and David knows

(05:25):
exactly what to do.
And that's what I want to callon you to do.
David says the Lord is myshepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd.
He doesn't go.
Oh God, I come to you and Iapologize, and I apologize and I
repent and I'm so sorry andI've been a scum and I've done
wrong, and I'm like, please, god, give me a chance.
He doesn't do that.

(05:46):
He doesn't do that because heknows something that you need to
know God loves you.
He loves you right now, rightwhere you are, and the fact is,
you may have jumped across thefence, run across the road, run
across the stream, you may be onthe run as a sheep, but your
shepherd is right behind you,pursuing you in love to bring
you home.
Not going to whip you, notgoing to beat you.

(06:06):
Sin will do enough of that foryou.
He's there to bring you home.
And so David, in depths ofdiscouragement, says Let me get
back to reality, let me get outof what's going on here and back
to where I ought to be.
And then he says the Lord is myshepherd.

(06:29):
I shall not want.
The Lord is my shepherd.
Helvi is my shepherd.
I am is my shepherd.
I shall not want that word inthe Hebrew.
I shall not want.
That word means I have notwanted.
I will not want that word inthe Hebrew.
I shall not want.
That word means I have notwanted, I will not want.
I don't want right now and Inever will want because I don't
want.
I'm in God.

(06:51):
And he says he goes all the waythrough this psalm Not one time
does he repent.
Do you remember when theprodigal son ran away and did
all that wrong?
And he came back, ready toapologize, quote, unquote ready
to say he was sorry, he had awhole list of things he's going
to do to get things right as hecomes, running back to see his
father, but his dad neverlistens.

(07:11):
His dad comes running out ofthe house, grabs him, kisses him
, hugs him, smells his pig stinkall over him, calls for him to
be bathed and get a new robe andget his daddy's shoes on his
feet and a ring on his finger tokill the fatted calf.
And that's how God loves you.
This morning Now, I knowprobably if you're drawn to this

(07:33):
passage or this set of videosor this set of podcasts, you're
thinking I've messed up and Idon't know that God loves me and
I don't know that God will comefor me and I don't know that
God cares.
And I'm here to tell you that hedoes care.
I think I love one of thethings that goes on in this
Psalm as much as I love anythingelse the fact that David goes.

(07:54):
He's still my shepherd.
I have messed up, I have donewrong.
I have been doing my own thing.
I have been living where I havedone wrong.
I have been doing my own thing.
I have been living where Ishouldn't have lived, but he's
my shepherd.
I'm not saying that David's notsorry for his doing wrong.
See, I think David could havebeen going I brought this on

(08:16):
myself If I had just disciplinedAmnon, if I had just taken care
of Absalom when I should have,if I had just not slept with
Bathsheba, if I had just notkilled Uriah, if I had just been
a faithful husband, if I, if I,if I you know you play that
game, don't you, if I?
And then you think that Godloves you because of that.

(08:37):
I need you to know God lovesyou because God is love.
I need you to know that God isgood to you because God is good.
Oh, taste and see that the Lordis good.
Blessed is the man thattrusteth in him.
You see, you got to understand.
God's never good to you becauseyou're good.
God doesn't love you becauseyou love him.

(08:57):
God doesn't love you becauseyou do right.
God loves you because God lovesyou.
You belong to God.
You're his sheep.
He is your shepherd.
Whether you're acting like itor not, he is your shepherd.
And so I want to challenge youto consider with me today that
he loves you, that he caresabout you, and I don't care

(09:25):
where you are, I don't care whatyou've done.
Turn around.
The shepherd's standing rightthere.
He never left you.
He will not leave you.
He's here to help you.
It's time to turn and receivethe love that's flying at you,
that's coming at you like a wildriver, loving you no matter who
you are, no matter what you'vedone, no matter where you are.
He loves you and it will notstop.
The Lord is my shepherd.
Thank you for listening and Ihope you'll be with me tomorrow

(09:47):
as we will delve more into Psalm23.