Doug knew his Shepherd, he did not want!

Doug loved the 23^rd Psalm and on many occasions I have read it to him. One such time will be etched into my memory forever because it was another time that God used “the man with half a brain” to remind me, “the man with the fully functioning brain,” of something that I should not need to be reminded of.

As I started reading to him I said “The Lord is my Shepherd,” Doug immediately jumped in and says “I shall not want.” When I got to the verse that says “He restores my soul” I asked “Doug, what do you think that means?” His response, “I’m safe.” Another time I asked him the same question when I got to the same section of the psalm. His response, “I’m well.” I was reminded immediately of the hymn “It is well with my soul.” The third time I read the same portion to him and asked him once again what it meant. His response, “He takes care of me.”

I have heard many godly men teach and preach on the 23^rd Psalm, read many wonderful books about its power to change our lives but I have never heard a more simple yet profound explanation of that power than the one Doug gave me.

After all when we allow our Good Shepherd to “take care of us” (to tend to us) we will realize “we are safe, it is well with us no matter what is going on in our lives, and we shall not want.” What else do we need? On the other hand when we choose to control our lives we will come to the same realization that the prodigal son came to, “we shall be in want” (Luke 15:14), but take heart, our Father allows u-turns, just come back home to Him.

One other occasion that demonstrated how much Doug loved the 23^rd Psalm came through an encounter in the Special Needs Sunday School class of which he was a member. Joe, his teacher approached me after class one Sunday and said “I’ve got to tell you what Doug just did.” The teachers had an exercise that involved a question on an index card for each member. Doug’s question was “What do you do when you’re troubled?” Doug’s response, he quoted the 23^rd Psalm to the rest of the class.   

Oh by the way, we should all be careful of the use of the term “special needs” as referring only to a particular segment of our society, because at the end of the day we all have our own set of special needs that can only be met by the same Shepherd that Doug knew, loved, and is with now in eternity.

Remember He has provided a throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find Grace to help “in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16), and if I may, “for any need.”