DECEMBER 30, 2014
He
Leads Me
Read: Psalm
23
He leads me beside the still waters. —Psalm
23:2
In Istanbul, Turkey,
in 2005, one sheep jumped off a cliff and then nearly 1,500 others followed! In
the end, about one-third of them died. Not knowing which way to go, sheep
mindlessly follow other members of the flock.
No better word picture
than sheep can be found to illustrate our need for a trustworthy leader. We are
all, Isaiah wrote, like sheep (Isa. 53:6). We tend to go our own way, yet we
desperately need the sure direction of a shepherd.
Psalm 23 describes the
trustworthiness of our Good Shepherd. He cares for us (v.1); He provides for
our physical needs (v.2); He shows us how to live holy lives (v.3); He restores
us, comforts us, heals us, and bountifully blesses us (vv.3-5); and He will not
abandon us (v.6).
What a comfort to know
that God gently but firmly leads us! He does so through the urging of the Holy
Spirit, the reading of His Word, and through prayer. God is the reliable leader
we need.
In acknowledgment of
our dependence on the Lord, we can say with the psalmist, “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.”
Like sheep that sometimes wander from the
flock
In tangled paths of life to lose their way,
I need my Shepherd’s hand and watchful eye
To keep me always, lest I go astray. —Sanders
The
Lamb who died to save us is the Shepherd who lives to guide us.
Insight
Today’s familiar and
beloved psalm has brought comfort and hope to many. And well it should. This
psalm celebrates all that the Good Shepherd does for His sheep. The greatest
benefit comes in the last verse: We will “dwell in the house of the Lord forever”
(v.6). God does so much to provide for and care for His sheep. However, there
is an implicit idea in this text that should not be overlooked: Sheep follow
their shepherd. The blessings and comfort of this psalm do not come to sheep
that do not follow the Shepherd. As Jesus reminds us, “My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012