“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” – Psalm 23:1
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Many of us learned this verse as children, reciting it as we scribbled in our fluffy sheep outlines with our crayons in Sunday School class, taking comfort in the simple fact that God will take care of us like a shepherd takes care of his sheep. And because of the shepherd the sheep pretty much have it made. He gives them food, he gives them water, he offers them protection and shelter, he gives them love and affection. Every need is taken care of, often before the sheep even realizes there is a need. Like I said, sheep have it made!
However, sheep are followers. It’s in their nature to follow someone or something. Unfortunately, they’re not picky about who, or what, they follow and quite often end up following the first thing to move, regardless of the danger to themselves or the rest of the flock. Blinded by their need to follow they end up in places that their shepherd never meant them to go.
Who is your shepherd?
I know, I know, the verse above tells us that the Lord is our shepherd, but is He?
Unfortunately, like sheep, we have a tendency to follow after things, or people, that God never intended for us to follow. Such as education, our jobs, relationships, recreation…while there’s nothing inherently wrong in pursuing these things, if we put them before God then they have become, in effect, our shepherds. To put it simply, if we are allowing anyone or anything other than God to be our shepherd then we will never have a life that is truly satisfying or without want.
If the Lord is my Shepherd then I shall not want; but if I’m in want then it’s clear that I need to make sure just who it is I’m following.
Blessings, Kathy W.