God bless you

-Dan

“The Lord is my shepherd…”

Psalm 23:1

Just above the first words of this psalm is the introduction, “A Psalm of David”.  As I was soaking up this psalm I found that I never really gave a whole lot of thought to the fact that I’m reading the passion and ponderings of a shepherd.  When considering all the great biblical characters most of us have a picture painted in our minds of what that character looked like.  John the Baptist is often sporting some type of gnarly animal fur and throwing back some type of bug as a snack, Jesus has these wonderful blue eyes, lush long hair, and a nicely trimmed beard, David is often wearing a crown on his head remembered as King or a sling in his hand remembered as a giant slayer, but more often than not people don’t think of him as the shepherd.  That’s because being a shepherd has never really been a job of glory and fame but a job of grace and shame.

A Shepherd in ancient times wasn’t the most socially acceptable position.  Most of them were considered the low lives of society due to their image.  As a shepherd, stepping in pasture patties wasn’t something uncommon, having some poop stains on your robe was normal, and smelling like sheep was just another thing that came with the job.  They tend animals that don’t have the sense to tend themselves.  Often lost, hurt, or hunted, sheep had need of a capable, gracious, and faithful caretaker, and the same goes for you and me. 

In the Bible God is often referred to as The Shepherd, and we are the sheep.  He is the leader and the caretaker and we are those that need leading and taking care of. 

Why?

Because we too get lost in sin, get hurt by this world, and are hunted by the enemy.  So the Lord, our Shepherd, came to be with, provide for, and take care over us, His sheep.

Why would one be a shepherd though? 

Why take a job that stinks and is looked down on by others?

The answer is not “Someone’s got to do it” but “Someone gets to do it”

You see a shepherd doesn’t sign up for the status boost or the working conditions, He signs up because he has a relationship to the sheep, he loves them and wants see them live abundantly well.  His reward is them, in their life, their growth, their abiding.  Just as a Shepherd’s joy is in his sheep, so too the Lord’s joy and reward is in us.  God cares for you and me, He desires to see us not only live life but to live it abundantly well, without being stolen from, without being beat up, without being annihilated. 

“Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.  He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”

Isaiah 40:10-11

So how do we get to that place with the Shepherd? 

How do we receive abundant life? 

We abide with the Shepherd, we draw near and intimately remain with the Lord…we stay in the pasture of His will, we drink from the water of His word, we eat up the feast of HIs blessings, and we receive the outpouring of the oil of His Spirit. 

As we continue to look deeper into Psalm 23 may we continue to draw nearer to the Lord and enjoy as he draws nearer to us (James 4:8).

Genesis 24:1-4

The chapter to come is probably one of the greatest love stories in the Bible. It speaks of a Father’s concern for his son, a servants loving obedience to his master, and the love and commitment of a husband and wife. 

This account of relationship and marriage is painted by a couple key elements: Providence, Persistence, and Prayer. 

The same is true in the account of God honoring and successful relationships today!

God providentially brings them to be and orchestrates the process properly.  Then we as servants must serve each other persistently.  And at all times we must continue to sort through the journey prayerfully obeying and abiding in God’s truth and will.  As we do we see the molding and meshing of beautiful relationships that speak great depth of the character, intimacy, and blessing of our Lord.

Genesis 21:14-15

I love survival information; stories of survival in less than welcoming conditions have always caught my interest.  When reading this passage it struck me that in the conditions of the wilderness of Beersheba, a sunspot of sorts with arid and hot climates, two people wandering with only a small ration of food and water wouldn’t stand much chance for survival.  As I looked for information on how long the average healthy human being could survive while in conditions like the wilderness of Beersheba, I came to find the average survival rule of thumb is: 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.

After Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael off in the early morning with some food and water the situation dried up rather quickly.  Conditions were more than likely pretty rough and as we see in the verses that follow it wasn’t just dehydration that ailed Hagar and Ishmael…it was loss of Hope as well.

In the Bible water often represents the Word of God (John 4, John 15:3, Ephesians 5:26) and the Spirit of God (Isaiah 44:3, Zechariah 14:8, John 7:37-39).  Just as Hagar and Ishmael didn’t stand much chance for survival in the heat of the day while wandering through the wilderness without water, when “the water in the skin” or the living water of our hearts dries up, we too are bound for dehydration and gradual death both physically and spiritually.  The common mistake that we as believers often make is that because we have a Bible in hand and are reading the scriptures we are okay, the truth is that’s only part of the equation. 

Have you ever made the mistake of putting a bottle of some type of beverage to your lips and didn’t realize that the cap was still on the bottle?  The satisfaction of the beverage is there but it’s not accessible unless the cover is removed.   The Bible is like that bottle of water, and the only way that the cap comes off and we are filled with the living water of the Word and the refreshing Spirit of God is through intimate relationship and faith in Jesus Christ.  We can read all we want but when the Spirit of God isn’t present things get pretty dry and our time in the Word isn’t fully satisfying.

“But their minds were blinded.  For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.  But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.  Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

2 Corinthians 3:14-16

When times get hot and arid in life and it seems as though all hope is lost we often find ourselves looking for shelter in the most insufficient places, Ishmael wasn’t the only guy that found himself under a shrub, Elijah went under a broom tree, and Jonah tried to find some shade under some leaves as well.  All these guys were in a hopeless state in their respective “hot” situations…perhaps you’re looking to duck under some shade from the heat of your circumstances?  King David tells us that safety is found in abiding in the presence of God.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2

Where are you today?

Are you looking for refuge from the heat of the day?

Are you dry and thirsty when in the Word of God?

Turn to Jesus, get back to intimacy with Him, He’ll take the cap off your bottle and pour you a fresh glass of satisfaction.