Big Idea
The answer to worry is to believe that God will take care of you.
Worry is like fog — a small concern that, left unchecked, fills our whole mind and paralyzes us. Psalm 23 offers a simple hope: God is our Shepherd who provides, protects, guides, and corrects, and He can be trusted to take care of us, even through death itself.
Key points
1Worry is unhelpful, unreasonable, unhealthy, and unnecessary
Pastor Bill compares worry to revving a car engine in park — it wastes energy and goes nowhere. He notes worry is unreasonable because either you can act on a concern (so act) or you can't (so it's pointless), and studies show worry can even shorten your life, yet Psalm 23 shows it's ultimately unnecessary.
2Psalm 23 is part of a prophetic trilogy pointing to Jesus as our Shepherd
Pastor Bill explains that Psalms 22, 23, and 24 form the 'Shepherd Psalms' — 22 is Jesus on the cross (the past), 23 is the Shepherd walking with us now (the present), and 24 is resurrection hope (the future). David likely wrote it late in his reign, stressed and worried over his own failures and his family's rebellion, yet found hope in God as Shepherd.
3To let God be your Shepherd, you first have to accept Jesus as Lord
Pastor Bill points out that the Lord is not automatically your shepherd — the shepherd must first be your Lord. Drawing on John 10, he explains that Jesus' sheep know Him, listen to Him, and follow Him, and that the root of worry, going back to Genesis 3, is trying to control your own life instead of trusting God.
4Begin praying about everything, and actually let go of your cares
Using 1 Peter 5:7, Pastor Bill notes the Greek word for cast means to drop and walk away, not to reel back in like a fisherman constantly checking his lines. He illustrates this with his own story of spilling tea on his shirt before service and worrying, then catching himself and giving the small worry to God.
5Consider one day at a time instead of borrowing tomorrow's trouble
From Matthew 6, Pastor Bill explains Jesus' teaching not to worry about tomorrow because today has enough to deal with on its own, and that God gives us all of our needs, not all of our greeds.
6Even walking through death, the Shepherd is with us
Pastor Bill tells the story of evangelist Wilbert Chapman praying with a dying ten-year-old boy, teaching him to hold his finger while saying 'The Lord is my shepherd.' The boy was found dead two days later still clasping that finger, having walked into eternity holding the hand of his Shepherd.
Application
Pastor Bill frames it as the ABCs of making Jesus your Shepherd: accept, begin, and consider.
Accept Jesus as your Lord
Whether you already believe in Jesus or have never truly surrendered to Him, ask whether the shepherd is actually your Lord day to day, and yield control of your life to Him rather than just claiming Him as advisor.
Begin praying about everything
Bring even the small, seemingly silly worries to God, and actually drop your cares on Him instead of reeling them back in like a fisherman checking his lines.
Consider one day at a time
Stop borrowing tomorrow's trouble; deal with what God is asking of you today, and trust that He provides what you need, not everything you want.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
