Tag: Shepherd

Declaration of Trust and Dependence on God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

I am so thankful that the Lord is indeed my shepherd, and He does provide for all of my needs. When I am discouraged, He provides hope. When I am tired deep in my soul, He provides rest. When I am thirsty, He provides for me to be filled with living water from His Word. And when I am feeling lost on a pathway that seems to lead to nowhere, God shows us and shows me the right way to go. In knowing the Lord as my shepherd, I can be content, resting in the knowledge that He is in control and is truly taking care of me, even when life gets scary or challenging.

A Shepherd and His Flock

The 23rd Psalm is a powerful declaration of trust and dependence on God. Today, we’ll look at how the first few words reveal a core belief that to accept God as our shepherd, we acknowledge that He is the One who provides for our every need. He is the ultimate source of comfort, guidance, and protection. 

Just as a shepherd cares for his flock, tending to their every need and leading them to safe pastures, God also cares for us, His children.

The psalmist goes on to describe how God cares for His sheep. He makes us “lie down in green pastures,” a metaphor for providing rest and security. He leads us “beside quiet waters,” quenching our thirst and offering us peace. He “refreshes our soul,” restoring our inner strength and well-being.

One of the most comforting promises in Psalm 23 is that God “guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” Even when you are unsure of the way, you can trust that God will lead you in the right way (John 14:6). He will not allow you to wander into harm’s way, for His name’s sake.

How can knowing the Lord as your shepherd provide you with contentment when facing challenges? Repeat these words until they sink deep into your soul: The Lord is my shepherd, He will never leave me or forsake me. He will always provide for my needs and guide me on the right path.

Thankful for God’s Judgments

On By vickleaIn Quotation and Citations, Scripture4 Comments

Most times when I was disciplined as a child, I learned something. Hard lessons to learn about not lying, not rebelling, not taking things from others. But I learned that I would be punished. Nowadays, I am thankful for God’s judgments because it is from Him that I am learning to be more like Jesus.

I continue to pray for all who face the final judgment of God, and I am well aware that we learn the lessons about righteousness that He is teaching now or we will live eternity separated from Him because we didn’t accept and learn from Him.

Have a blessed day and look forward to God’s teaching us righteousness. It is for our good always.

Here is a quotation that seems fitting for today:

“A. W. Tozer wrote, “The only safe place for a sheep is by the side of his shepherd, because the devil does not fear sheep; he just fears the Shepherd.”

Excerpt From

Mornings with Jesus 2022

Guideposts

https://books.apple.com/us/book/mornings-with-jesus-2022/id1559464097

This material may be protected by copyright.

A Day of Waiting

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

bible.com/bible/113/psa.130.5.NIVUK

The somber day of Jesus’s crucifixion is done. The celebration of His Resurrection is yet to happen. What do we do on this Holy Saturday? Like the disciples, we wait. Unlike them, on that day after His death, we know that the future is bright because of His empty tomb. The disciples had to be terrified that they, the ones closest to the Messiah, would also be arrested, tortured and put to death. They scattered and hid because they had lost their shepherd. We have the hope that they did not have and know that Sunday is coming! We put our hope in God’s Word, waiting with expectation for the next great thing He will do in our lives to show His love for us. He already did the greatest thing possible when He sacrificed His Only Son for our sins. How can we not believe in His great love for us?

Have a blessed day as you reflect on the sacrifice of the Lord and wait for the celebration of the Resurrection Day.

Our Shepherd

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized11 Comments

Most people are familiar with the 23rd Psalm, even if they know nothing else about the Bible.  But have you really thought about what it means for God to be our Shepherd?   Have you ever spent any time around sheep?  They are really dumb animals, according to all who have raised them.  They follow the lead sheep and may even follow it into danger if the shepherd or keeper isn’t there to stop them.  They graze until the pastureland is desolate and won’t move until the shepherd moves them.  Wait!  Is that really dumb or is it obedient and cautious?  After pondering the scriptures about God being our shepherd, I have decided that I want to be more like a sheep.  I don’t want to go my own way or follow a wrong leader over a cliff that represents danger and bad times ahead for me.  I want to depend on the Good Shepherd to lead me and to feed me daily from His Word, not to continue to graze in the old pasture that has dried up.

Did you know that the Scripture says in the book of Ezekiel that God will take care of His sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace?  Awesome stuff, huh?  God declares that He is our Shepherd.  The sheep don’t have to do anything but accept that truth and allow Him to give us a place to rest in His peaceful presence.  So often, we get caught up in running here and there, looking for God and what He wants us to do.  But God is right there next to us, speaking in our ear to be still, to rest in Him and in His love.  

If God says it, it’s true and He says He is our God.  We are His people!  Have you ever walked into a crowd, looking for someone you know?  Then you see a group of your friends and you say, “There they are!  Those are my people!”  That’s what God says about us.  He looks down on the earth, sees His followers and proclaims that we are His.  Then, as our Shepherd, He keeps His eyes on us forever.  There is nowhere we can go where God is not there.  I thought for a while when I was living in the vast snowy land that is Maine that God had deserted me, but I found Him there each time I made a new friend, in my job that He gave me, in the crafts that I was able to do and bless others with.  God was there; He had not moved away from me at all!

In the New Testament, Jesus calls Himself the good Shepherd.  Furthermore, He tells us that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.  I have been told that in some places, the shepherds let all of their sheep graze together.  Then, when they need to bring their own sheep together for shearing or whatever, they need only walk through the field calling out for them.  The sheep belonging to that farmer know his voice and follow him. Whether that is accurate or not, I know that the people who belong to the Lord will hear His voice clearly, recognize it and follow Him.  I heard the Lord calling to me when I was alone in an apartment in Smithfield, Virginia, reading my Bible and discovering that He was my Savior.  I heard Him comforting me when I had a stroke, encouraging me to live and to get stronger.  I hear Him daily now when I spend time in His Word and pray.  It is amazing to me that some do not think that they can hear the voice of the Lord in these times.  If God isn’t speaking to you and you know that you have a relationship with Him, then go back to the last time you heard Him and wait for Him to speak to you again.  I can assure you from experience that God didn’t go anywhere; He didn’t move away from you and He wants you to hear His voice.  

I hope that you are all as blessed by this lovely hymn as I am.  The scenery is beautiful and much to be admired.  As you gaze at it, know that the God who created all of that wonder also created and loves you, just as you are.  He is your Shepherd, and He wants to lead you to a place of rest and refreshing.  Be blessed today with His presence!