The Lord Is my Shepherd

The LORD, my Owner, the All-powerful, the All-knowing, the Ever- present, the Most High, the Creator of the ends of the earth, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Owner of the earth in all its fullness, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, is my Shepherd.

He IS my Shepherd. He was, He is and will continue to be my Shepherd. He is unchanging- the Unchanging Changer. He never fails. His mercies endure forever.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.

He is My Shepherd. I do not know about you. But He is MY Shepherd. I know that I know that I know that from the day I called, He took responsibility for me. I became His sheep and He became my Shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety- nine and goes in search of the one missing sheep. I was once lost but the
Good Shepherd came looking for me. He went through hell and high water. He found me and with great delight, nursed me, cleaned me and put me on His shoulder and took me back to the sheep- fold and threw a party for me. He is not like the hired man who will run for his life when the lion and the bear come to eat me up. He stays put to protect and to shield. He even lays his life down for His sheep if it comes to that, washes their feet, buys them back from the slave market of sin with his own blood and calls them by His name.

I SHALL NOT WANT
Yes, because the Lord is my SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT. No good thing will He withhold from me as I walk uprightly (Ps 84:11). He will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil.4:19). He will daily load me with benefits to enjoy (Ps.68:19). For David of old who wrote this psalm, also said: I was young but now Im old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging for bread (Ps37:25). Silver and gold belong to my God (Hag.2:8). The cattle on the thousand hills belong to Him (Ps.50:10). The Good Shepherd will provide for His sheep. Provision is His responsibility. As I look on to Him, He will direct my steps as to what to do (Ps.32:8). This same God provided for His people in the wilderness- raining down manna for them (Ex.16:14-15). This super-abundantly able God brought forth water out of the rock to quench their thirst (Ex.17:6, Ps105:41). It was He who did not allow their clothes and shoes to wear out for forty years, and He is my God and my Shepherd. He is the same God, Who is Elshaddai- the heavily breasted One who feels my thirst afar off. He is the God who is more than enough, the Great I Am, the I Am That I Am; He Who will be what I want Him to be. He is Jehovah Jireh, The Lord my Provider. And as He provided a ram for Abraham in the thicket on that day, He will provide for me (Gen.22:8; -8:22). As He provided for the four lepers by a ridiculous means, He will provide for me (2Ki.7:1-8). As He provided for the woman who had nothing but a cruise of oil, He will provide for me 2Ki. 4:1-7). As He provided for Jacob in the midst of famine, He will provide for me. My provision is in my vision. I will find it and work at it, and God will bless it. whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Ps.1:3) the Lord delights in the prosperity of His servant (Ps.35:27). It is the Lord who gives me the power to get wealth (Deut.18:18). And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold. (Gen.13:2) He will make His grace abound toward me (2Cor.9:8). This was the God who provided for Elijah- using a raven to feed him (1Ki.17:2-7). He has not changed. He fed the 5000 with just two fish and five loaves and there were twelve baskets left over (Mark 6:35-44). When wine ran out in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11), they came to Him and He provided. This same God opened Abrahams eyes to see the vast array of fertile land reserved for him after Lot had chosen what looked like the best part of land available- the well-watered plain (Gen. 13:14-18). Later He opened his eyes to see the ram caught in the bush and asked him to use the ram for the sacrifice he had asked for instead of using Isaac. (Gen.22:8-14)This same God is my Shepherd and my Provider. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!

Before 1981, I was lost but the Good Shepherd found me.
Where did he find me?
It was in a leaky, dingy, dank, decrepit, dilapidated, damp, rundown, God-forsaken bed- sit, along Peckham High Street London. I had a bucket on standby to collect water from the roof when it rained. I did some rounds of emptying to keep afloat. I was the only tenant. However, I was desperate for a place. Previously staying with a friend whose was now expecting a relative, I was in dire need. I had no option I had to leave at short notice. There was no proper bathroom in this shack. A pigs sty was a palace in comparison. Each morning as I took my bath the water drained directly on to the staircase, which led to water looked like a garden from hell. It was not free. I would not take it under normal circumstances.

This was where I came face to face with my Saviour. When He confronted me with my sin, I immediately donned the robe of self- righteousness, but I was still naked to Him. With His pure, piercing penetrating eyes, He saw me through and through. I was running but I could not hide. Yet He ran toward me with love, a great love, an unconditional love, an everlasting love. As high as the heaven is above the earth so great is the love, and as far as the east is from the west so far was He prepared to remove my transgressions from me. All I needed to do was to admit my sin- sickness, separation, poverty in spirit inability to help myself or earn my salvation.

After a brief struggle on that fateful day on the 24th of August 1981, I surrendered my life to the Lord and was gloriously born again. It was like a ton of weight was rolled away from me. That was surely the weight of sin. I was like a new born babe. I inhaled a breath of fresh air, forgiveness, or the first time. My old life was in a fell swoop buried and my New Life began. All in this smelly messy, shambolic, shack.

Not long after this encounter with the Lord, the council offered me a one-bedroom accommodation. I was next to heaven overnight. I immediately saw the provision of my Shepherd. However, there was war in the spirit realm soon after the party following my conversion.
I had an expensive Hi-fi, which was still at my old accommodation. Thieves broke in and stole it. I was devastated. Nevertheless, I held on to my new love and gradually he restored them. A few years later, I had a brush with the Home Office for working without a work permit. It was my second breach of the condition of my stay as a student. After my initial breach, court fine was 60.00. This time round, they told me to leave the United Kingdom voluntarily or face forceful deportation. I prayed along with friends hoping for a reversal of this draconian ruling. The deadline I was given was running out. I was tempted to go underground as many did. However, I new it was not right. I was now a New Creature. I had to trust the Lord. It appeared the Lord has a different plan in this matter.

I went over to Ireland to look for admission into a college to continue my Accountancy course. I was able to secure one so I went back to the UK. No long after the Lord opened a door for me a friend of a friend who heard about my plight decide support me financially. He gave me a weekly allowance from then on and even gave me a holiday- some thing I could only dream. And what more he was prepared to sponsor me in Ireland if I was granted a Visa. He wrote a letter of undertaking for me to take to the Aliens Office in Dublin. He also paid my fare to Ireland and continued his financial support for one year.

The Lord is my Shepherd!

For some financial reasons he had to stop. I had to go to my Shepherd and look to Him to supply my needs according to His riches in glory. For a start the Aliens Office did not want to know whether I was sponsored, they wanted me out of Ireland immediately- within seven days. I appealed through a firm of solicitors, and warned not to work. So here I was, not allowed to work, studying in a foreign land. But who could have thought that anyone would survive this ordeal? And for the next 7 years God provided for me in miraculous ways- raising different people in the land at various times to meet various needs I had. They did it voluntarily. I did not go begging them. God laid me on their hearts. However, as they obeyed he blessed them. For some of them the blessing was immediate, for others it was after some years through their children doing well at school, college and university and eventually securing good jobs. The Lord is my Shepherd. He is no mans debtor.

This is partly why I have affinity for Ireland and the Irish people. God did wonders in my life during my eight years sojourn. It was not rosy by any means. I lived in about ten different places some rent free, but during this movement from place to place God was also birthing songs in my heart- songs of deliverance which I sang in many fellowships encouraging the saints. And as I encouraged them, I was also encouraged. Hundreds of songs were composed over the eight years. To God be the glory!

He still provides. Does it mean I have not had difficult time? Of course not! I have had to go to my shepherd repeatedly. I have had to pray His promises back to Him. I have had to ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. Through it all, I have learnt to trust in Jesus. I have learnt to trust in God. I have learnt to depend upon His love. Where God presides, God provides!