Is He Your Shepherd?

Last night was a tremendous Bible Study at New Life Pentecostal.  Pastor McGriffin read just the first two verses of Psalm 23.  He said this is a very familiar passage, but many of us suffer from short term memory loss so it's a good idea to take notes in church.  I'm so glad I was taking these notes!

The Lord is my shepherd...

This is a personal and interactive relationship.  It becomes a relationship based on our confidence in who our God is.

I shall not want...

Because I have confidence in His shepherding skills I do not have to worry about my needs or wants.  When my focus is correct I do not have to fear.

Is He your Shepherd? Or are you, in your mind, just one of the flock? When there is daily interaction with the shepherd the automatic by-product is the sheep trust the shepherd and have no fear.

Anxiety should speak volumes to us.  That needs to be repeated.  Anxiety should speak volumes to us.  Are we really trusting the shepherd?

There is a difference between receiving what God has for me and not getting what I want.  The vast majority of Americans don't know what it is to be in want.  We take things for granted.  Sheep that are confident don't get distressed over what they don't have.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures...

God doesn't make us do anything.  The word "maketh" here does not mean to force but to have made provision for.  God made a place for us to lie down.  Sheep do not like to lie down - they sleep standing up.  We are the same way when things aren't going our way.  The Lord maketh (provides) a place of rest.  

Because of the faithfulness of the shepherd, the sheep trust him.  We repeated several times, "The Lord is my shepherd and I trust my shepherd."

There is no need for anxiety.  For sheep to lie down there has to be a tremendous amount of trust.  Sheep are vulnerable when they lie down, but they look to the shepherd for protection.

He leadeth me beside the still waters...

Still waters are hard to come by in our busy, over-scheduled lives.  There is a place of rest in a busy and crazy world.  We need both physical and emotional rest.

God wants us to have time to recuperate.  We need times of recuperation.   

We need to value hitting the pause button and taking trips by the still waters. We need to learn what it is to calm ourselves.  When we're hurting and feeling stressed, we must find a place of rest.  We need rest and calm to navigate life.

The opposite of still waters is a place of explosion.

God is doing everything to create a place of rest.  The biggest mistake you can make is believing you can work through every problem of life on your own.

There is a great need for spiritual lifeguards.  People who are looking for those who are drowning in the sea of life, who can bring calm to others.  We can't do that if we don't have calm and rest in our own lives.

We have the ability to be calm and bring calmness.  The church is a place of calmness.  This is a place to come in and lie down.

There are times when we are so stressed, our thinking is so messed up, we don't think we can even pray.

When we are in stillness God can send things to cleanse us of the parasites of life.  It takes the calm place to clean off what does not belong.  We have to learn the value of quiet time, a time to take a deep breath, listening for the still small voice.

At this point of the lesson, the Great Shepherd, the Prince of Peace took over.  There was such a beautiful, calming move of His Spirit that I put my pen down and closed my eyes, just listening to Pastor McGriffin.  He continued teaching a few more minutes.  The spirit in the building was so sweet as Pastor McGriffin began to sing...

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
There's just something about that name
Master, Savior, Jesus
Like the fragrance after the rain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Let all heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away
But there's something about that name.

The congregation joined in, singing softly with no instruments, but with such a spirit of calm.  It wasn't a time to shout, but to quietly absorb the Word that was spoken.  Pastor McGriffin closed with these words, "In a world spinning out of control, we need to find the place of rest in the calm of God."

I knew I would be blogging about this subject this morning.  I just didn't know I would be put to the test before I got a chance to write about it!  Les rode his bike to work this morning.  No big deal, I can watch his progress on my phone... unless he leaves his phone here like he did this morning!  So I had a choice, spend the next 45 minutes anxiously waiting to hear from him, or trust the Shepherd.  I chose to trust.  I prayed and said, "God, You were going to watch him whether he had his phone or not."  And I was able to calmly wait to hear from him.