Backstory:

My Mom and I are currently memorizing the words of the song, My Shepherd Will Supply My Need. I have loved this song for many years because I have sung it in many choirs. I looked up the backstory behind the words of the song. It was written by Isaac Watts and published in 1719. He used Psalm 23 as the backdrop to the words. During his work on this and other hymns, Watts suffered a prolonged illness. In gratitude for the sustaining help he received, he offered this song and others. His story resonated with me because I have an autoimmune disease that I struggle with every day. As I was thinking about writing this, I looked at a painting in my living room and it caught my eye. The painting is called Beside Still Waters by Greg Olsen. The story behind this painting is also Psalm 23. The fact that I looked at the painting while I was thinking about writing this story felt like a tender mercy for me. We all are so blessed in our lives. We just need to recognize our many blessings.

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

Jesus is our Shepherd and we are His Beloved Sheep,

We should trust Him so much that if He were here with us we could fall into a deep sleep.

Imagine being with Jesus near a beautiful and tranquil stream,

Would it be so surreal to be with Him that it would feel like a dream?

The scene is so quiet and peaceful

That you have never felt it’s equal.

You feel at once that you can trust Jesus because of the loving spirit that surrounds Him,

And you feel like your soul will never again feel grim.

You sit down with Him under a shady tree with the sun shining down around you,

And even though you have only just met Him, in His presence you can’t feel blue.

You can feel His love for you right away,

And you know that you would follow Him any and every day.

You don’t ever want to leave His presence because of how He makes you feel,

And you can tell that His love for you is real.

You fall down at His feet near the stream and bathe His feet with your tears,

You thank Him for His example and His guidance through the years.

You thank Him with all of your heart,

For suffering for your sins and weaknesses and choosing to do the hard part.

As He leads you away back to your home,

You hope the peace you felt with Him will stay with you so you never feel alone.

The Takeaway: We can always rely on Jesus to be our Good Shepherd. We can trust Him to lead us to a place of peace, joy and rest. He always knows how we are feeling at any time and in any situation. Even though He isn’t here with us physically, we can always feel His presence and His warm embrace in our lives. He will never leave us alone. We can always count on that.