Good Monday Morning Blog Family. I pray everyone had a safe and blessed Easter weekend. Ready to start a brand new week in the Lord filled with His grace and mercy. Such a beautiful Spring morning. Praise God.
I was reading one of my devotions on Sunday morning and it was talking about the dark valleys and shepherds. It talked about how shepherds keep their sheep in the low lands where the grazing is good. Then when the weather changes they will herd them to the top of the mountains where the grass is good for grazing. Although there will be good grazing at the top of the mountain, the journey is sometimes very dangerous for the sheep. So, the shepherds job then becomes a protector of the sheep during this journey keeping all harm and danger away. To watch for predators and evil lurking in dark hidden places ready to attack the sheep. Although there may be danger and dark valleys along the way, the shepherd knows the reward that will be waiting when they get there. As long as the sheep are obedient to the shepherd and do as they are directed to do, they will be safe and in the good hands of the shepherd.
So, I decided to do a little research on shepherds and sheep, which I must say was very interesting. My research made me think of us as Christians. We are the sheep and Jesus is our shepherd, as the Bible says in Psalm 23, which reads:
The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not [a]want.
2 He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;
He leads me beside the [c]still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 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.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will [d]dwell in the house of the Lord
[e]Forever.
So, when when we listen to our Shepherd and do as He instructs us to do, He is walking with us every step of the way. When we stray away from His sight and His voice, our journey through life can become a “valley of the shadow of death” experience. As David describes in verse 4 of the above scripture. God has promised to take care of us no matter what uncertainties surround us, as long as we are walking with our Shepherd every day. We can’t stray away from the Shepherd in disobedience and still expect His protection. That’s not how it works.
We basically have to trust God with our every step and our every move, why? Because He knows all and He sees all. Remember, in a past blog I shared with you a very good Word I heard a Pastor say. We can see to the corner, God can see around the corner, we can see today, God can see tomorrow, we can see the top of the mountain, God can see over the mountain. This is so true and such a good word to live by, especially if you are walking with Jesus. Stay close to the Shepherd and listen for His voice. John 10:27 reads, “My sheep listen to My voice, I know them, and they follow Me.” God Bless 🙂