Good Shepherd

“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” (Psalm 23:1-4).

What makes a good shepherd a good shepherd is not how gently and kindly he pets the sheep.

What makes a good shepherd a good shepherd is how well he protects his sheep from predators, how he feeds them, how he leads them to water.

When sheep are protected, well fed, and watered, sheep grow.

That’s the shepherd’s job.

The LORD is our shepherd.

We Are that Toddler

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” (Hebrews 11:1-2).

The heroes of scripture didn’t know the ending…they just trusted in the One who wrote their story.

  • They obeyed without guarantees
  • They walked without knowing where
  • They believed God when everything around them looked impossible

Take a toddler. The toddler doesn’t need to know where, what, when – in fact, it would be pointless to explain the details to a toddler. All that the toddler needs is to trust the hand he/she is holding onto.

We are that toddler.

The heroes of scriptures – all they needed to know was that God was guiding them. That was more than good enough.