THE GOOD SHEPHERD'S REST

By: Pastor Flávio Macieira - 2025

Day 1 of the "The Naked Soul: Finding God in the Radical Honesty of the Psalms" series.

Imagine living in a room where a fire alarm is constantly blaring. At first, you panic. Over time, the panic gives way to a constant, high-pitched stress that becomes the soundtrack to your life. You try to ignore it, try to work, try to sleep, but the piercing sound never stops. It steals your focus, drains your energy, and fills every moment with a tension you can barely name. Living with anxiety is exactly like this. It's having an internal alarm that goes off with no fire in sight, leaving your soul exhausted and in a perpetual state of high alert.

It is into this loud, stressful room that David's gentle voice echoes across the millennia, not with a command to "just calm down," but with a declaration of identity that changes everything. He looks at his internal alarm and says:

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Psalm 23:1-3 (NLT)

The secret of Psalm 23 isn't a list of techniques to fight anxiety. It's a single, revolutionary truth: the presence of a Shepherd. Anxiety tells us we're on our own—that the responsibility to protect, provide for, and guide ourselves is all on us. David's psalm shatters this lie. Peace is not a place we find, but a Person who finds us. When the Lord is our Shepherd, then sufficiency ("I have all that I need"), rest ("green meadows"), and restoration ("he renews my strength") are no longer our responsibilities to achieve, but gifts to be received from His hands.

Anxiety focuses on the "what" and the "what if." "What's going to happen?" "What if I can't handle it?" The Shepherd focuses on the "Who." "Who is with me?" The radical invitation of this Psalm is to shift our gaze from the noise of the alarm and fix it on the face of the Shepherd. It's trusting that He will lead us out of the noisy room and beside peaceful streams, not because we deserve it, but because He is good, and He cares for His name and His sheep.

Your Next Step of Faith: Today's step of faith is an act of transference. Take the main worry that is blaring like an alarm in your mind. Write it down. Then, out loud, read this sentence over it: "Lord, You are my Shepherd. This worry belongs to You, not me. I release it into Your care and choose to rest in Your presence." Keep this paper as a memorial of your surrender.

The Soul Mirror:

1. What has been the loudest "fire alarm" in your life recently?

2. Does the idea of "resting" and "letting go of control" bring you more relief or discomfort? Why?

3. What would it practically look like to let the Shepherd guide you in a specific decision you need to make this week?

Let's talk to our Shepherd.

Good Shepherd, I confess that I often live like an orphan sheep, trying to find my own pasture and protect myself from my own fears. The alarm of anxiety is loud, and I am exhausted. Forgive me for forgetting that You are with me. Today, I remember and declare: You are my Shepherd. Teach me to rest in Your care, to drink from Your waters of peace, and to trust in Your guidance. Silence the alarm within me with the certainty of Your presence. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Anxiety screams that you're in charge. The Shepherd whispers that He's in control.

Did this message speak to you? ✨

1. Comment: Share your thoughts below. We love reading and engaging with you!

2. Share: Send this hope to a friend. One seed can change a day.

3. Go Deeper: To continue your journey and support our mission, check out our books. 👉 See all our books here: https://www.propagandoapalavra.com.br/livros