Who Is My Shepherd?

Yahweh is my Shepherd are the first words of Psalm 23. These words announce the protection and provisions of a personal God. The emphasis is on the fact that Yahweh – the Creator of the universe – recognizes me as an individual and wants me to speak His name and call on Him for my deepest and most personal needs.

Often when we worship we speak of our God. And He is indeed our God. We come together as believers to worship and praise Him. But David, who once was a lonely shepherd watching his flock, wants us to know that this Shepherd takes a personal interest in the individual needs of each sheep in His flock. Sheep are, perhaps, the most dependent of all animals and cannot survive without the care and constant attention of the shepherd. If any of his sheep have any need at any time, the shepherd is available, night or day, ready and able to meet every and any need of his sheep.

Most of us would not want to depend on anyone for everything the way sheep depend on their shepherd. But Yahweh, our Creator, wants us to depend on Him that way. Why? It keeps us close to Him and makes us rely on Him for all things. He proves our faith and trust in Him and on Him and not ourselves.

Prayer: Help us, Father, to look to You and trust in You to meet our every need in life. May we recognize how blest we are to have You as our personal Shepherd. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Struggling To Survive

A raging sea, a violent storm, a broken mast and a twenty-foot swell capsized the small ship. A survivor in a small rowboat was struggling for his life - looking for a hope. Suddenly, through the dark clouds he sighted a lone star shining brightly. Rowing with all his might, he said to himself over and over, “If I lose that, I’m lost!”

What an appropriate scene for us to visualize when all seems lost and storms of life refuse to give way to calm seas. Wave after wave rises and falls while the wind grows stronger and the night darker. We strain and we struggle against all odds, to survive. Is the sun gone from my life forever? Will I never see another blossom? Will the clouds never allow the stars to shine again?

Often, we fix our eyes on things that give us no hope or people who do not care for our best. The “immediate” is right here right now, and that’s all that matters! So we “reach out” and grab anything that is available.

However, there is a better way to respond when life has turned us upside down. The Psalmist wrote, “The eyes of all look to You in hope.” There are those who “wish” for better days when things are bleak and black. And then there are Christians who have hope!

The difference between a “wish” and “hope” that comes from faith in Christ is quite significant. A wish is a “desire” or a “dream.” But when we who belong to God say we “have this hope,” it means that because of His faithfulness we have the confident assurance that we can trust the Lord to save us and sustain us in life’s darkest hours.

Prayer: Lord, as unworthy and undeserving as we are, we know that You will rescue us if we have faith in You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 145:15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

The Miracle Worker

Twelve ministers boarded a flight in Miami for New York. Shortly after takeoff the plane encountered a terrible unexpected storm. The people onboard became frightened as the aircraft bounced and seemed to shift from side to side with the currents.

One of the clergymen called to a flight attendant and said, “Tell the Captain that everything will be okay because twelve ministers from Miami are onboard.”

Politely excusing herself she phoned the Captain with the news. A moment later she returned to the minister and said, “The Captain asked that I tell you that he was honored to have all of you onboard the flight. But he also asked that I tell you that he would rather have four dependable jet engines.”

Jesus, our Savior, was a miracle worker. He specialized in accomplishing supernatural things for God with ordinary people and ordinary things. What He did then He can do now. He has not changed nor has His power changed.

When He fed the five thousand He used the lunch of a small boy to feed the hungry crowd. He took that small insignificant gift and accomplished one of His greatest miracles. The lesson: No one is ever too young or no gift ever too small for God to accept and use to accomplish great things that will honor Him.

Prayer: Father, help us to realize that it is not the gift we offer You but the need that will be met by our willingness to work with You to do Your work. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: John 6:1-14 …Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish…Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed to those…as much as they wanted…

Our Needs From His Riches

An architect designed a cluster of office buildings around a central green area. After they were built he called a landscape architect and asked him to plant grass in the area among the buildings.

Puzzled, the landscape architect asked, “But where do you want me to allow space for the walks?”

“Don’t worry about that. Just plant the grass,” said the architect.

A few months later the buildings were filled with occupants. As the people went from one building to another they made pathways in the grass. The architect then decided it was time for the walkways.

“Do you see those paths created by the people?” he asked the landscape architect.

“Yes,” came the reply.
“That is where I want you to place the walks,” said the architect. “It was important for me to see the needs of the people going from one building to another before we located the walks.”

That’s the way our Lord works. When we have a need, He is ready to respond to us from His riches.

When we are afraid, He will increase our faith. When we grieve, He will give us His unending grace. When we are overcome with the world’s problems, He will give us His peace. His riches will match our needs and the paths we walk.

Prayer: Help us, Lord, to trust You completely for all that we need. We have the promise of Your Word that if we ask, You can and will meet our every need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.