What is the guide for your life? Who is it you look to for guidance? Is there someone you desire to model yourself after? Is there someone who exemplifies who you want to be? What does it mean to be a shepherd? Do you have a shepherd? Are you listening for his voice?
We often look up to certain people, especially when we are young. But we can also look up to people when we are older. Often the people we look up to are those who appear to be living a life that is good and wholesome. This is truer of us as adults than children.
The twenty-third Psalm is one that many people around the world know or have heard, even if they are not Christians. The opening line speaks of the Lord being our shepherd. In today’s world, we have lost the understanding of who or what a shepherd is. We don’t see many true shepherds around anymore.
A shepherd was more than someone who prodded along the sheep or the goats. The shepherd talked to them, and they knew his voice. The shepherd knew where to find food for them, and they followed. The shepherd knew where the water was and would lead them to it. The sheep and goats listened for the shepherd’s voice. They trusted him with their lives, for he also protected them from predators.
If we know God as our shepherd, we trust him. We will follow him wherever he leads us. We know that he will lead us down the right path for our life. We take comfort in his rod and staff, knowing they are used for our protection, warding off evil. We trust that he has anointed us, and our blessings will overflow. We believe we will live in his house forever.
I pray we all view God as our shepherd. I pray we trust that he will lead us down the right path. I pray each one of us take comfort in God’s protection and that he has anointed us with blessings. See God as your shepherd. Trust him to lead you. Take comfort in his protection. Trust in his blessings.
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Marty Pressey 