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Psalm 23:1-6 (NLT)

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need…”

This week we’re camping out in just five words. “The Lord is my Shepherd.”
Simple phrase. Massive implications.

Of all the things David could’ve said about God—Creator, King, Master, Ruler—he says: “Shepherd.” And if God is our Shepherd… then that must make us sheep.
And listen—I don’t know about you, but there are way cooler animals I’d rather be compared to. A tiger. A lion. Maybe even a gorilla.
But a sheep?

Sheep are kind of… dumb.
But how many know—God makes no mistakes.
Scripture calls us sheep over 200 times for a reason. The more you understand about sheep, the more you understand why we need a Shepherd.
Let’s talk about eight things sheep do, and how we do them too.

1. Sheep Have No Sense of Direction

They’ll literally follow each other off a cliff. And that’s not a metaphor—it actually happened.

In 2005, 400 sheep in Turkey plunged to their deaths following a single sheep off a cliff. Over a thousand others followed… and only survived because the others cushioned their fall. That’s real.

We laugh… but Isaiah 53:6 (NLT) says,

“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.”

We get pulled by distraction, temptation, relationships, ambition, and pride—wandering from God’s path.
But the good news?
We have a Shepherd who corrects, redirects, and leads us back.

2. Sheep Are Defenseless

Matthew 9:36 (ESV):

“He had compassion… they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

1 Peter 5:8 says the enemy roams like a lion looking to devour.
David understood this. In 1 Samuel 17, he says a lion tried to snatch one of his sheep—but he ran it down and rescued it.

Some of you feel like that sheep in the lion’s mouth. Helpless. Defenseless.
But let me remind you—you have a Shepherd who fights for you.
And He never loses a sheep.

3. Sheep Can’t Get Up on Their Own

When a sheep falls on its back, it’s stuck. It's called being “cast down.”
Only the shepherd can lift it back up.

Isaiah 40:11 (NIV):

“He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.”

Some of us are stuck. Stuck in sin. Stuck in shame. Stuck in fear.
But we serve the Good Shepherd who lifts us when we fall.

We weren’t made to walk alone. The quality of your life will always match the quality of your Shepherd.
Wrong shepherd = wrong direction.
But Jesus said in John 10:14:

“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

4. Sheep Recognize the Voice of Their Shepherd

John 10:27 (ESV):

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

There’s a story of Middle Eastern shepherds all watering their flocks at one pool. The sheep mixed together like a crowd at a concert.
But when it was time to go, each shepherd called out—and instantly, each sheep followed only its shepherd’s voice. Why?
Because they had spent time with their shepherd.

In a world full of noise—social media, culture, politics, fear—can you still recognize the voice of Jesus?

Here’s the test: The voice you listen to most is the one you follow.
And if you don’t spend time with the Shepherd, don’t be surprised if you mistake a stranger’s voice for His.

5. Sheep Weren’t Meant to Carry Burdens

You’ll never see a sheep with a pack on its back. They’re not oxen or donkeys.
They’d be crushed.

Psalm 55:22 (ESV):

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you.”

How many of us are carrying burdens we were never meant to carry?
Emotional weight. Financial stress. Shame.
And we wonder why we feel crushed.

You weren’t designed to carry it—you were designed to cast it.

6. Sheep Will Settle for Less

If a sheep is thirsty, it’ll stop at the first muddy puddle instead of walking a few feet to clean, still water.

We do the same.
We settle for short-term satisfaction instead of God’s best.
Like Abraham and Sarah—God promised them Isaac, but they settled for Ishmael.

Don’t settle.
You can either settle for less, or be blessed.
Let the Shepherd lead you to still waters.

7. Sheep Can’t Heal Themselves

Psalm 147:3 (NLT):

“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.”

Sheep require constant care. Left alone, they’ll die from wounds they can’t treat.
And we’re no different.

We hide our pain, numb it, ignore it, fake it. But only the Good Shepherd heals what we can’t fix.

Jesus isn’t looking for perfect sheep. He’s looking for willing sheep. Sheep who say, “I’m broken… but I’m Yours.”

8. Sheep Are Incredibly Valuable

In Jesus’ time, sheep weren’t just animals—they were currency.
They provided food, milk, wool, and offspring. A man with a big flock was considered rich.

So when Jesus says in John 10:11 (ESV):

“The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep…”

He was showing the highest form of value.
Your worth isn’t based on your productivity—your worth is based on the price He paid.

You are valuable… because you are His.

Closing Thought: MY Shepherd

Here’s what jumps off the page to me.
David doesn’t say, “The Lord is a shepherd.”
He says: “The Lord is MY Shepherd.”
That’s personal. That’s relational. That’s intimate.

David was a king—but still called himself a sheep.
Because when you’ve seen the care of a good shepherd, you’re not embarrassed to admit you’re a sheep.

He’s not just God over the world.
He’s the God who walks beside you through the valley.
He’s the God who knows every hair on your head.
He’s the God who anoints your head with oil, and prepares a table for you—even when the enemy is watching.

And if He’s my Shepherd, then I lack nothing.