Here is another picture of me with my 'sheep' - gives you some idea of the size of it! Imagine threading all those beads! - How many beads approximately do you think have gone into making this sheep? Post your answer as a comment and I'll post the answer at a later date. I might even send you a prize if you are the closest guess!
Anyhow, this post is not really about my beaded sheep, but the 'Sheep' Psalm......
The Psalm begins with:
The Lord is my Shepherd
I shall not want
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside still waters
He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Actually 2 'new' things 'hit' me!
(Does that ever happen to you?.....you read a passage of scripture and somehow the same words seem to jump out at you, saying something you never really realised was there before!)
So I thought I would share what I discovered - maybe it will bless you too !
The first is this:
- apparently another way to translate 'still waters' is 'waters of rest' or of 'repose' where the sheep will not be frightened by the noise and rushing movement of the water but will feel relaxed (though they are not stagnant waters either)
- this isn't just water that is still, but a place that is still - a restful and refreshing, "no-stress" place.....and could we say, not necessarily a 'geographical location' but a place in our hearts and 'being'.
(I am reminded of the command to 'Be still and know that I am God'. - no rushing - but quiet still restfulness.)
-I was then challenged that: if the Shepherd has promised to restore my soul and lead me in 'still' and restful places, and yet I feel anxious/stressed, I am not 'walking' with the Shepherd in dependance on Him through my circumstances.....I'm not on the path the Shepherd is leading - I am off on some side-track and trying to negotiate rough rocky ground in my own wisdom and strength and knowledge thinking I know the way through this or even worried that I don't, but rather than stopping long enough to see where and how the Shepherd wants to lead me, I struggle on drowning in my own effort.
As I contemplated this, I was also challenged to the how easily we can also just follow other sheep rather than the Shepherd. Advice or action from another sheep will only be helpful if that sheep is actually following the Shepherd in that area of their lives. I am reminded that if another sheep has some 'help' to give or is walking a certain path of choices/priorities, and I think it sounds or seems helpful to me, I still have a very clear obligation to check out if it matches up with the Truth of the Shepherd and His will for me. (ie God's Word), and never just assume that because another sheep says something 'works' for them, that it is what the Shepherd wants for me. There's lots of 'advice' to be got in our world today - through personal interaction or via the internet - even 'Christian' advice, but we still have to check if it matches with what the Shepherd says! Yes, another sheep may help me see what I hadn't noticed/known before and it causes me to dig into God's word deeper and realise that it is truth that I need to listen to and obey. But I have a responsibility to examine everything in the light of Scripture.
The Shepherd wants to lead me (even in the midst of rocky ground) on a path that is 'copeable' in HIs strength and peacefully walkable. He wants to restore my soul in the midst of surrounding pressures that have got my attention and worn me out. He wants to give me rest. And the reason he wants to lead me on his paths is.....
The second point:
....because they are paths of 'right'(eousness) the best paths for me, but even more than that,
for His name's sake!
This little phrase "for His name's sake" I have recited umpteen times....but not until reading it in a different translation one day did it dawn on me that this little phrase actually means 'for the purposes of His glory and honour".....ie so that His name will be glorified!
Once again this is a picture of God doing all for our good and His glory....if we let Him!
....the problem is the likeness God gives to His children as 'sheep' is all too true....and its all too easy to wander and just function on 'auto pilot' following the sheep around me or thinking I can just plod on without taking the time to look up to know where and how to follow the Shepherd, and it will sure to be a path that is not 'natural' to me from my near ground level perspective. But I need to look to the Shepherd, trust Him and His higher perspective on life now and up ahead, and follow where He wants me to be, and to pause when He wants me to pause. Oh how much time we (I) can waste by not keeping in step with the Shepherd constantly ...and it doesn't take much to get off track..... where I am then prone to make matters worse by worrying about the place I have got myself! But if I stay on track - the track the Shepherd wants to lead me on- it will be the best track for my good and His glory and honour!
How do you relate to this Psalm and the imagery of sheep? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
If you are interested in the metaphor of Christ as the Shepherd of us His sheep, you might want to check out the following books:
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