If The Lord is My Shepherd - Direction

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 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 your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Psalms 23:1‭-‬6 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/psa.23.1-6.NIVUK The theme of direction runs through this Psalm in phrases like: He leads me beside quiet water. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. They come from the simple truth that shepherds always knew which way to go through the desert. They would have received this knowledge from their fathers and grandfathers as the trade was handed down. They would have retained this memory. Sheep, on the other hand, are gentle, but lack intelligence. They would get easily distracted and would wander off. This well-known parable from Luke 15 was more than likely highly effective because it happened a lot: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” Luke 15:4‭-‬6 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/luk.15.4-6.NIVUK It would also explain why Isaiah used this well-known verse in his prophecy about the Christ: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.53.6.NIVUK Or why Jesus referred to the senseless sinners among His own people as being lost sheep: These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. Matthew 10:5‭-‬6 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/mat.10.5-6.NIVUK But we should also reflect on these verses: The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:3‭-‬4 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.10.3-4.NIVUK You see, when we follow Jesus through life and do what He says, then He is our shepherd. However, when we choose to be distracted by sin and turn away from His commands, then at that moment we are choosing to not recognise Him as our shepherd and go our own way. This happens even when we decide that His commands are too difficult or burdensome or out of step with our culture. Any time we turn aside from Christ's commands, we are rejecting His authority as shepherd. The thing is: our Good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11). And the reason why He had to do so is exactly this: because the sheep turned away and decided to do their own thing: Any good shepherd would risk his life to save his sheep, even if they got into difficulty because of their own stupidity. Jesus is alluding here to His sacrifice on the cross to save His flock. Anyone who follows Jesus as their Good Shepherd is fully aware of the price He paid to save them. They know full well the awful sensation of being lost. They know the warm, safe feeling of being found. They know which they prefer. A number of years ago, we were in Kuala Lumpur in a large playground near to the Petronas Towers. It was getting late and we needed to get back to our hotel. But we couldn't find our daughter. We had lost sight of her. We were so frantic. We split up and searched through the playground until we found her. It can't have been a long time that she was missing, but it felt like an age. I imagine that's how it would feel for a shepherd to search frantically through the dangers of the desert to find their lost sheep. Friend, as believers we have the assurance that Jesus will look for us and find us when we get lost. But as believers we will not want to subject Him to such a frantic search. As His friends, we know the price He paid for us and will not want to stray from His side. As His flock, we know He knows the path through life way better than we do and will not stray. This is what it means if He is our shepherd. We will not leave His side, even for a moment. So we've seen that having the Lord as our shepherd means that we have a changed attitude to provision, in that we are happy with what He has given us, and direction, in that we will follow Him and not stray. Thirdly, we will have a changed attitude to AFFLICTION, which we will see in my next blog.