“The Lord is my
shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads
me besides calm waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of
righteousness for his name’s sake. And even 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 comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows! Certainly, mercy and goodness
will accompany me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the
Lord for ever.” (Psalm 23 SyS)
The songwriter
penned these words: “Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my life in vain.”
What feelings! What melancholy! From time to time, we all may experience it,
but note that the songwriter didn’t stop in the depths of despair. He
continued: “but then I think of Jesus and all He’s done for me. Then I cry to
the rock of ages, Hide thou me.”
We usually detour
down this avenue called awful about the time our self-confidence runs out and
reality shows up. We see how full of ourselves we have become. And we are
certain that we ought to be further up the mountain of growth than we are.
Then, like Jack and Jill, we tumble down the hill because we are too
self-occupied to hear the voice of God directing us in the paths of
righteousness. We begin to wonder: “Where are those calm waters the pastor
preached about? I don’t see any green pastures around here, perhaps the pastor
was speaking rhetorically.”
Do you think that we
might need to calm ourselves? Is it possible that we might need to practice
simplicity? What if we actually exercised humility? Perhaps, if we turned loose
of our dogmatic insistence that God will not allow this or that. Are we like sheep
that have gone astray? If so, then, Lord Jesus comfort us back to your side
with your rod and your staff.
Is it possible that
the 21st century church needs to learn how to maneuver the swamp of reality
with minimum losses but with maximum profit? Perhaps we need to swim through
life like a fish instead of bringing the slime of life’s circumstances with us
like a snail.
Travelling the
valley of the shadow should certainly teach us faith, experience, and obedience
but the shadow should stay in the valley. There is no need to bring it with us
for there will be enough shadows and valleys ahead. Since Jesus is our
shepherd, however, we refuse to be intimidated by fear or evil. He walks with
us! He talks with us! He assures us that we are his! And he prepares a table
for us despite the enemy’s raging. Our lives are not in vain! Jesus Christ is
our shepherd, and therefore anoints us and restores our souls!
He encourages us
with his own words: “Come unto me all of you who are weary and burdened down,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek
and lowly in heart. You shall find rest for your weary souls. My burden is
light and my yoke is easy.” (Mt. 11:28-30)
Dear Father, thank
you for your shepherding. Empower me with the confidence of your Spirit to
direct my own life and to lead weary souls to the Shepherd. This I pray in the
name of Jesus. AMEN
Who is the shepherd
of your life? Who leads your ministry?
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