THE LORD IS MY SHEPEHERD

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

Psalms 23
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pasture. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the 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 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 mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 

Six months after Greg died, my brother, Steve, and his wife Tami took their church on a trip to Israel. I had already been to Israel twice before and loved it. If you ever get a chance to go, DO IT!! It's life changing. I thought it would be a good idea to take my boys and go. Partly to show them the holy land and partly to prove to myself that I could do this thing called single parenting. Fortunately, I had my brother and sister in law, my parents and a couple of nieces and nephews that went with us. Despite being in a completely broken place in life, the boys and I had a marvelous time. To stand on the mountain where Elijah called down fire from heaven, to see the caves where David went to hide, to sail on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked and Peter tried was so mind blowing. There was something so comforting about being where Jesus spoke to the people and cared for them and healed them that was like a balm to the soul of someone who was looking for healing in her own life.
Then we came upon a statue of a shepherd that was holding a lamb over his shoulders. Our guide brought us over to this statue, who's face had worn over time, and explained what a shepherd's job was. It is a shepherd's job to keep his sheep (who so easily wander off and get lost or hurt) safe. Our guide said that sometimes there is a sheep that is especially inquisitive or just rebellious who won't listen to the shepherd's voice and instruction. They will go their own way and lead many sheep to follow after them. It is with these sheep that the shepherd has to especially guide. The shepherd would often break the leg of this sheep. I know that sounds mean, but the shepherd did it for the good of that particular sheep and the others in the flock. It would take that sheep's leg about six weeks to heal and in that time, the shepherd would lovingly nurture the sheep; carry it, feed it, talk to it and sleep next to it because that sheep was critically vulnerable at this time. By the end of the six weeks, that broken sheep would learn it's master's voice, would learn to trust him and rely on him. When the shepherd would pull out his staff after that, the sheep would only need a tap from the shepherd to get back on the right path.
God is our shepherd...our good shepherd. I don't think that God intentionally breaks us though I think He has every right. He knows that our sin and life circumstance will bump and bruise us and sometimes even break us. But it's in our brokenness that if we rely on Him, we learn we can trust Him and that He will provide for us. In Psalms 23,  David tells us that the Lord is our shepherd. Then David tells us what we can expect from Him; that we shall not want, that we should not fear. David tells us that as our Good Shepherd, we can rely on God to lead us in the correct direction and that instead of fearing His Godly discipline, correction or direction, that His rod and staff will be a comfort to us, protecting us from things that could harm us.
Some people wonder how, when life breaks us, that we can proclaim of God's goodness and mercy. Can God truly be good and merciful when bad things enter our lives? As someone who has lived through, what I think is the worst thing that can happen in life (which is the complete separation of a loved one through death) I can answer without hesitation, YES! God is good. God is merciful. I don't deserve all the goodness He has bestowed on me and my family before, during and after the death of Greg. God, my Good Shepherd, gave me the blessing of being born into my awesome family, of guiding my steps through adolescence, of choosing which college to go to (long story, but all Him!) My Good Shepherd blessed me with marriage to my knight in shining armor, Greg, and with the blessing of having four of the greatest kids ever, of pastoring my beloved church family. My Good God blessed me with extra time with Greg, of allowing me to be his caregiver. My Good God graciously took Greg to heaven where he is no longer suffering. My Good Shepherd has been with me through all the tears, all the anger, all the remorse, all the new rusty laughs that I tried out after heartbreak. My Good God wakes me up every morning, puts joy in my heart, gives me hope and slowly shows me I have a new future. My Good, Good God helps me single parent! Lord knows I need SO MUCH help in this area, but He's always there to listen when I cry out for help. I can not even tell you how much, in tangible ways, that God guides me in parenting and even better, some times He parents for me! He puts the right people with the right answers in the right place. My God is so good, so merciful that all I have is praise and glory for Him.
However, I think David ends Psalms 23 with the best news ever.  Because I have received Jesus as my Savior, I will dwell with the Lord FOREVER!! How much better can it get that not only will my Good Shepherd love and guide me on this earth, but is creating a perfect place for me when I'm done with this life?
Can I encourage you today, if you are struggling in life with either circumstances or consequences, run to the Good Shepherd. Cry out to Him to guide and protect you, to give you hope and remind you of what lays ahead. God wants to provide for you, lead you, restore you and protect you. Let Him into your beautifully broken life and see how good He is!