psalm 23

1. Know whose you are.
Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my Shepherd.
Shepherding is one of the oldest callings in Israel. Sheep and their shepherds lived together every minute
of every day as they traveled from one pasture to another. In fact, they were so intimately bound together
that individual sheep, even when mixed with other flocks, could recognize the voice of their own shepherd
and would come immediately when called by name.
A shepherd owned and marked his sheep. For thousands of years, shepherds around the world marked
their sheep by notching their ears with a sharp knife. Each shepherd had his own distinctive notch that
clearly indicated ownership and identity.
To think that I can know God is an amazing thought, but to think that God knows me is a reality that rocks
my world! Yes! God knows me and is aware of my every thought, hears every word I speak, and delights
in who I am. The same is true for you!
I believe that much of our stress is the result of a constant and innate quest to love, to be loved and to be
known. We tend to find our identity and worth in the fact that we are loved and chosen by someone. A
choice implies ownership, pursuit, and a deliberate action on the part of the one doing the choosing.
Every shepherd chose his sheep - one by one - with great deliberation, thought and care.
I have spent a great deal of time and energy trying to validate my existence, trying desperately to prove
my worth and establish my identity by what I did and how I performed in the arena of life. I prayed that I
could create a worthy identity by compiling an impressive list of “good things” I had done. God doesn’t
work that way. God doesn’t love us because of what we do or don’t do. God loves us because He is
love! We were created in love … for love. We were lovingly planned and created by God.
I could have avoided a lot of pain by remembering whose I am, a chosen child who is indispensable to no
one but God. That's right! No one can take our place in the heart of the
Father. We belong to God and we were created by God for God.
Knowing whose we are is the frontline of the battle to manage the
stress in life, before the stress manages us.




The LORD is my shepherd: I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He
leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of
righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, 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 runs over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will
dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. Psalm 23:1-6 (NKJV)