SOAP Bible Study on Psalm 23:1-3: What Does It Really Mean That the Lord Is My Shepherd?

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Ever since I unpacked the meaning of the word "shepherd" and what it means for the Lord to be my Shepherd, it gave Psalm 23:1 new meaning for me.

I think a lot of us can relate to the idea of wanting direction from the Lord and wanting to be in His will. Sometimes, though, there can be a lot of different things that come up that can lead us to feeling like we're running around in circles, juggling way too many things, or simply just feeling lost about which way to go next.

Being able to unpack and rest in God being our Shepherd is something that can stop our aimless wandering and anchor us in the truth that we have a Shepherd who leads and guides us.

If you can relate to being in a season where you're seeking the Lord for direction and guidance, read through this study and unpack verses 1-3 of Psalm 23 with me using the SOAP Bible study method.

S.O.A.P Bible Study Explained:

Before diving into the passage, I wanted to quickly explain the SOAP Bible study method so you can follow the structure of the blog easily, and use this method for your own Bible Study time if you find it helpful.

SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer.

First, you write out (or highlight) key verses as you're reading your Bible. Then you make observations about what the text is saying in its context (if you need help unpacking the context of verses, check out the ESV Bible I use below). After making your observations, you reflect on how the text you just read applies to your life today. Then, you respond to God through prayer.

Now, let's dive into the Bible study :)

Scripture:

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." ~ Psalm 23:1-3 ESV

Observation:

The word "shepherd" is the first thing that stands out to me from this verse, and while I've heard it many times before, especially in reference to the Lord, the definition girly in me had to look up the specific meaning of the word to further unpack it.

• Shepherd: a person who tends and rears sheep.

• Tend: to have or take charge of as a caretaker or overseer.

• Rear (in the context of rearing sheep): the agricultural practice of raising, caring for, and managing a flock of sheep. This process involves providing adequate nutrition through grazing and feed, ensuring proper shelter, managing healthcare, and often participating in selective breeding to improve traits like wool quality or meat yield.

  
  

Wow! There is so much to unpack there that already reshapes the meaning of the first 5 words of this passage.

If we are the sheep, and the Lord is our Shepherd, based on the definition of the word shepherd, that means that we can reread those first 5 words in the verse as:

• The Lord takes charge of us as a caretaker or overseer.

• The Lord as our Shepherd takes on the role of a Father who raises us and cares for us.

  • In the process of raising us and caring for us:

    • The Lord makes sure that we have adequate nutrition (aka, He provides our basic needs for us).

    • The Lord ensures we have proper shelter (aka, He makes sure we have a roof over our heads and ensures we're protected).

    • The Lord makes sure we're healthy, and He is intentional about improving the traits in us that matter for our lives.

      • For the sheep, the traits that matter are wool quality and meat yield, and in order to improve those traits in the sheep, the shepherd will often participate in selective breeding. That process makes me think of pruning which is defined as the process of cutting off or cutting back parts of something for better shape or more fruitful growth. Which then reshapes my understanding of the pruning process as something loving that our Shepherd does, in His process of raising and caring for us.

With all of this in mind in reference to the first part of the verse "The Lord is my shepherd", the words "I shall not want" land even deeper. Because of course, we shall not want for anything if we have a shepherd who does all of that for us. It's easy to rest in the promise of those words, when we gain context and understanding for what the word "shepherd" really means in reference to the Lord.

Do you know what else adds weight to those words? The fact that David (who wrote this Psalm) was a shepherd himself. In 1 Samuel 17:34, when he's introducing himself to King Saul, he starts with "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep." Everything we just unpacked a shepherd doing, David was doing for the sheep he kept in his father's house. So when he's speaking on shepherding, he's speaking from personal experience and from knowing all that it entails. Because he's shepherded sheep before, he knows the magnitude of saying "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Then we get to verse 2, which highlights how our Shepherd leads: "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters."

The "still waters" part of the verse really stood out to me, and upon further research, I learned that sheep are often hypercautious (aka anxious) around fast-moving streams. Because their heavy fleece quickly soaks up water and their swimming ability is poor, they have a natural instinct to fear rushing currents that pose a drowning risk. Since their shepherd knows that, there is intentionality in the shepherd leading the sheep beside still waters so that they can let their guard down and drink peacefully. When you add in the context of the Lord being our Shepherd, David is essentially saying that the Lord knows what's best for him, and is leading him towards a place where he can rest and be safe.

Then we get to verse 3, and the word that stood out to me there was "restore".

• Restore: to bring back or re-establish; to return something to a former condition.

  
  

The ESV Bible commentary on this verse says: "The restoration of the soul indicates the returning of life or vitality." The dictionary synonyms of the word restore include words like revive, refresh, and resuscitate.

So when you read "He restores my soul," with those definitions in mind, especially when you're in place of weariness where you feel drained, it's comforting to know that the Shepherd will revive and even resuscitate our souls. He will re-establish it, return it to its former condition, and bring it back to life.

The succession of the verses stands out to me too. It's almost like David is saying that when you embrace the Lord being your Shepherd, you will want for nothing, you will allow yourself to be led, and because of that your soul will be restored.

Then the second half of verse 3 is: "He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

The ESV Bible commentary explains this by saying: "those who are faithful to God will tend to follow the paths that lead to righteousness. The pursuit of morality is a blessing, not a burden."

What stood out to me in this part of the verse is that the shepherd leads to paths of righteousness, which means the burden of righteousness is not on us. Rather our part starts with embracing the Lord as our Shepherd, allowing ourselves to be led by Him which then allows us to be led to paths of righteousness. I don't know about you but it's very reassuring to know that I don't have to lean on myself to know the right thing to do. I can let the Lord lead me and He will lead me in the ways I should go (which makes me think of Proverbs 3:6).

Application:

These verses have been applicable to me in seasons where I'm seeking direction from the Lord and feeling lost about which way to go next.

Remembering that the Lord is my Shepherd, reminds me that I don't have to feel aimless and wander around like a lost puppy. It also convicts me of the fact that if I'm feeling lost and aimless, it may be because I have stopped being led by my Shepherd and I'm trying to follow my own way instead.

So applying this verse in my day to day life looks like:

• Reminding myself that the Lord is my Shepherd (and keeping in mind all that this word means).

• Reminding myself when I'm in need, that I don't have to worry about where provision, shelter, or protection will come from because I have a Shepherd who is making sure I have all that I need.

• Reminding myself to keep following my Shepherd, stay connected to Him, and allow Him to lead me so that I don't feel lost and directionless.

• Reminding myself when I am feeling lost to make sure I'm following my Shepherd and not myself (or the world).

• Reminding myself when life gets overwhelming that my Shepherd leads me beside still waters.

• Reminding myself when my soul feels weary that my Shepherd is a restorer and He will restore my soul.

• Reminding myself that I don't have to lean on my own strength to be righteous but that I can lean on the Lord.

  
  

Another application tool that has been helpful in my Bible study is asking myself: What is this passage teaching me about God? (His character, how He speaks, who He is, etc.)

The answer to that question for these verses was that:

• God is our Shepherd.

• He cares about us.

• He knows the things that we need, and He makes sure we have them.

• He is mindful of us in the same way a caring parent is mindful of their child.

• He knows what we need before we do.

• He guides us in the way that we should go.

• He is a restorer and He cares about restoring our souls.

How about you? When you read through these verses, what stands out the most to you about God and who He is?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you so much for your Word and the way that you continue to speak through it. Thank you for the reminder through Psalm 23 that you are my Shepherd. Thank you for showing me the fullness and the weight of what that word means so that I can begin to grasp how much you care and look out for me. Please help me cling onto these verses and these reminders when life gets weary. Please help me stay connected to you, so that I can be led by you and not by my emotions. Please help me remember when I am in need, that you are MY Shepherd, and that because of that I shall not want for anything. Please help me remember Lord. Please help me remember who you are in the face of trouble. Please help me rest in whose I am when I don't know which way to go. Please help me Jesus. In your mighty name, I pray, Amen.

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