I attended a women’s retreat several weeks ago, and the theme of the retreat was Psalm 23.  The retreat itself was refreshing, but especially so was the time both there and afterward spent pondering God’s word – specifically the Psalm that was the theme.

I bet that you know the Psalm well.  I did.  And yet, the practice of really thinking about God’s word and digesting it makes it so much richer.  I’d like to share a few of my thought so far as I consider what God says through David in this Psalm.

When I first started thinking through Psalm 23,  I naturally thought of it in collective terms. God is the shepherd of the whole flock, I reasoned. He makes the whole flock lie down in green pastures. He leads all of us beside quiet waters, guides all of us in paths of righteousness. After all, isn’t the church described as God’s flock? Doesn’t He care for all believers together?

But then I noticed something that changed everything: the pronouns.

Every Single Line

Go back and read Psalm 23 slowly. Count the first-person singular references:

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Every single line. There’s not one verse that speaks in collective terms. David isn’t writing about God’s care for Israel as a nation, or even about His care for all believers through time. David is writing about God’s personal care for him.

And it applies to me. To you. Individually.

The Moment It Clicked

The line that made this understanding crystallize for me was: “You anoint my head with oil.”

This has to be a one-on-one activity. Picture it: A shepherd doesn’t hold all the sheep together and sprinkle oil over them from a distance. He takes each sheep individually, spends time with that particular animal, and carefully rubs oil into its head. Ancient shepherds did this to protect sheep from nasal flies, to heal skin irritations and infections, and to comfort them.

This is intimate. This is personal. This requires the shepherd to notice what’s bothering this specific sheep and attend to it individually.

That’s when it clicked: Jesus does this for me. Not just for us, en masse, as the church. He spends time with me as an individual. He takes the time to know my hurts, to know my worries, to notice what’s bothering me. He treats my specific wounds. He deals with my particular anxieties and comforts me as the unique person I am.

This anointing—this one-on-one time with Jesus—is what results in the overflowing cup. When I experience God’s individual attention, when I know and feel that I matter to Him, that He would take time to personally notice and care for me, my cup overflows.

What This Means

God has this same level of individual care for you. Not just for humanity in general. Not just for your church or your small group. For you, specifically.

Because He is your shepherd, He knows what you need.  He goes to the extra effort to find and prepare the right places for you to be nourished—like a shepherd building a dam for calm waters in the wilderness, or finding the green grassy places in the desert.  He helps you rest there – even if you don’t want rest.

He restores your soul. He knows how to lead you a guide you on the right paths.. He is with you when you’re in scary situations—and when you’re not. He comforts you by helping you understand boundaries and stay away from dangers.

He prepares a table for you, a feast, even in front of your enemies. He anoints your head with oil—He protects you, He soothes you, He gives you the Holy Spirit (which is sometimes referred to as oil) who comforts you. This oil keeps you from going crazy. This oil is His individual care of you.

Because of Jesus, you have a future filled with goodness and mercy. You are always welcome in God’s home because of Jesus.  You’ll spend Eternity with Him.

The Personal Psalm

I relish God’s divine attention. I want to know and feel that I matter to Him. And the beautiful truth of Psalm 23 is that this isn’t wishful thinking or presumption. It’s exactly what David is declaring, and it’s exactly what Jesus demonstrates.

This psalm is actually all about you. Not in a self-centered way, but in a deeply loved way. God’s care isn’t diluted by being shared among billions. His attention to you isn’t divided. You matter to Him as an individual, and He takes the time to care for you as such.

That’s the kind of shepherd we have.