The Good Shepherd

A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,  he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 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, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.-Psalm 23

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." 

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." -John 10:11, 14

This psalm is not written for those who do not follow Christ. This psalm only applies to those of us who proclaim that Jesus really is our shepherd by receiving Him through faith. Jesus' saving work is sufficient for all (2 Corinthians 12:9) but it is only effective for those who fully believe in Jesus. When we read this psalm we are proclaiming that Jesus is MY shepherd and if that reflects our lives then we have everything in Him.

A shepherd supplies basic needs for his sheep just like Christ supplies our needs for us. He makes us lie down in green pastures meaning that we will not lack food for our souls and physical bodies. Jesus will not let us go hungry. Jesus leads us beside the still waters meaning that we will not lack refreshment and liquids needed to survive. Our physical bodies need plenty of water to function at their best but our souls also need refreshment of calmness. Jesus restores our souls and in Him we will not lack energy. Relying on Christ's strength we will be able to run the race set before us with full energy from the restoration of our souls that Christ blesses us with. Jesus leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. When we truly turn to Jesus we will never lack moral direction. Jesus will lead us on the path that will bring the most glory to God and fulfill the purpose that God created us to have. Jesus will never leave us and will always be with us even when we walk through darkness. We do not need to be afraid of death because Jesus provides comfort. Sin that is unconfessed and unforgiven is the sting of death that we deserve. However, Christ robs death of that sting for those who believe in Him. Sheep need correcting sometimes in the direction that they are going and shepherds use their rod and staff to guide the sheep into the right direction. The rod and staff are also used to protect sheep. Jesus also needs to correct our direction but He also protects us in huge ways. Jesus prepares a table with all the spiritual blessings that He purchases for us with His precious blood and we are able to sit and enjoy these blessings even when surrounded by enemies because Christ gives peace and security in Him. Sheep gain scratches and wounds as they take paths of the unknown. Shepherds use oil on the heads of sheep to soothe the pain of these scratches and wounds. Jesus anoints our heads with oil so that our wounds will be soothed and healed. When we truly think about all these ways that Christ shepherds us and the blessings that He pours upon us we will have no choice by to gratefully acknowledge Him and experience "our cup running over" with joy and peace of the Lord. As we are escorted through life, Christ will continue to guide us to our eternal dwelling place of the Father's house. We will be led by God's goodness and mercy. Oh Praise Him for the opportunity to even be led down a path of righteousness and perfection.

As I look back into my college years, I see the ways God worked in miraculous ways as a true Shepherd. Even going into college suffering from depressing, the Lord was there to comfort. Although I did not fully allow Him to be my ultimate comfort, I can see the times that God's comfort was overwhelming. When I transferred to UWSP because of not wanting to be away from home during depression and because of secretly hoping things would work out again with my ex boyfriend, I fully believe that it was the Lord leading me into the amazing Christian community that I am blessed with at this school. If I would not have transferred back home, even for the wrong reasons, I would not have gotten plugged into Christian ministry eventually. The first semester of being a transfer student was not a semester of following the Lord....far from it. But, I met people who eventually got me to leave the party scene and check out someone who was worth following. The Lord used this time to lead me in ways that I was not expecting and used times of doubt and darkness to steer me to His ultimate purpose. I could write about SO many times that the Lord pulled me out of sin, recalculated my path, and put me back in the right direction. The Lord has given me incredible strength in significant situations that allowed me to protect who I was in Christ. Middle of sophomore year I had started dating a guy who seemed to know the Lord but I failed to truly understand what he viewed following God looked like. When he started pressuring me past boundaries I had set up for myself I was able to let that relationship go right away. I really liked the guy at the time and it was definitely the Lord giving me strength to break up with him so quickly and I am definitely thankful! 

Do I honestly see God as my good shepherd right now? Yes, I honestly do. I have seen the crazy ways the Lord has brought me to Him the past few years and sometimes I view it as truly a miracle. There is no doubt in my mind that it was God who interfered with the plans I had for myself and brought me to His plan. The Lord has pulled me out of the worst pains and ruts in my life and gave me strength to do nothing but seek after Him. I have been able to sprint after His goodness because He has blessed me with so many opportunities to see it first hand in my life. I trust in following the Lord because my plans have been nothing compared to the crazy things God has thrown into my life. One of the craziest blessings was a few summers ago. I may have written about this story already but I am reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness through it. I had decided that I was going to make a plan to go on Summer Project, a missions trip. I had made the plan to send out support letters and I planned on getting a good response from my family....because they are family and family is supposed to support family. Well, my plan did not go exactly the way I thought it was going to. My own grandmother who would randomly give us money on visits told me she would not support anything I was doing with missions. In fact she offered to pay for the rest of my college career if I did not go. I quickly refused her offer but had no idea where the rest of my support was going to come from if not from family. Unfortunately, she passed away a week before going on the trip but God had a plan in all of this all along. I had no idea that there was going to be an inheritance giving to us as grandchildren from her passing. The inheritance is paying for the rest of my school for the most part and helped me to go to Africa the next summer. God is faithful in mysterious ways but I will follow His mystery because I would not be the changed person I am if I had not still gone on that trip despite the lack of support that turned into a huge blessing. 

In order to look to God for wisdom in what to do after I graduate, I need to fully believe that God can and He will lead me like the good shepherd. He will lead me in the best way. There are fears that God will vanish from continuing to lay them at His feet. Lord, I need You to take my fears and anxieties that are known and replace them with Your truth. I also need to recognize what is currently unknown. My prayer for myself and for those of you who can relate is this verse:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.-Psalm 139:23-24

Know that you are incredibly loved and cared for. There is hope waiting for you to embrace His arms and cling to the promise only Christ can offer.