Psalm 23 “The Lord is my
shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green
pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 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 runs
over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Our Small Group Bible Study
continued this week with the sixth session of the That the World May Know video
series “Walking with God in the Wilderness. Host Ray Vander Laan asks, “What do
you picture when you think of the biblical metaphor of God as Shepherd and His
people as sheep? We tend to overlook the fact that, often, He provides for us
when we’re facing difficult circumstances in the deserts of life. Why the desert?
There you have nowhere else to turn. In the desert, God shapes and molds people
who would depend upon and follow Him. People of ears, who listen and hear His
Words, then, respond by following Him. The sun is still hot, our path is still
steep, but God gives us just enough to keep us going.
The “just enough” blessings
shape and mold God’s people into a trusting community that loves Him and
depends on Him to provide for its every need. Do you have enough right now? The
shepherd leads his flock to green pastures that they have what they need right
now. Trust the Shepherd and follow Him for provision daily. We need to trust
Him completely. Consider the trust and
obedience the Israelite learned when God provided just enough manna for each
day and any remaining manna spoiled (except the extra Sabbath ration). Even
when His people settled in the Promised Land, each family received just enough
land to live contentedly in a relationship of trust, obedience, and dependence on
Him.
John 10:10-11,14-15 “The
thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come
that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. I am
the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My
own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay
down My life for the sheep.”
God still desires to shape
and mold those who follow Him into a people who trust Him fully and obey Him
faithfully. So He leads us, like a shepherd leading his sheep, into the “desert”
where we learn to love Him as our Good Shepherd.
In Christ, Brian
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