Psalm 23:3 “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”

When it comes to which path we will pursue many of us become preoccupied with our own preference. If we are going to follow the Redeemer we have to resist the urge to choose our own course.  From the time we are little we fight instruction, saying “I” can do it, yet “I” is independent of the Shepherd.  We need a shepherd because we are sheep that quickly choose the wrong path and get lost. One of the shepherd’s main tasks is leadership, yet we fear following because we misunderstand His leadership. What type of leader was Jesus? He was a loving leader not a lording leader. He wasn’t a dictator, He let Judas betray, and Peter deny, but He also wasn’t a democratic leader, He never took a vote. Today we rightly view dictatorship as demeaning, yet we champion democratic leadership because we believe it leads to freedom, but freedom is only found in following Jesus.  We fear following the shepherd because we are afraid of losing our freedom so we choose the path of self which leads to slavery and sin!  Sheep have no sense of direction, Isaiah 53:6 says: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” Sheep don’t know where to go but the shepherd does, John 10:4 “he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” I need the shepherd to lead because only He knows where to go, direction, how to get there, which path to take, why we are even going, the purpose, and when to go, the timing. Many Christians today are living directionless lives with no sense of purpose or timing because they refuse to surrender to the Shepherd’s leadership. When we refuse to surrender to the Lord’s leading we become lost, not unsaved but very unsure. Jesus doesn’t drive us from behind He leads from the front. He is not focused on how fast or how far we walk He just calls us to follow the right path. It’s not about the distance we cover but the destination. When the psalmist talks about the right paths He is also reminding us that there are wrong paths. When we choose to ignore God’s Word and disobeys His commands we depart from the right path. When we follow our feelings and friends instead of the Father we fall prey to pursuing the wrong path. We have a shepherd who leads us slowly just as a yew would lead her lambs so they could keep up. Our shepherd also leads us on the straightway so we are not lead astray. It’s easy to become distracted by our own desires instead of His path and His plan. We will either follow or falter; when we make it about our preferences instead of His path we become tempted to trade conviction for convenience and His call for our comfort. The Christian life isn’t about comfort or convenience it’s about being Christ centered. How do we find the “right path?” Follow, “Come, follow me,” Jesus said Mark 1:17. But it’s not following from afar, Matthew 11:28 tells us to draw close to the shepherd. “Come to Me”. And John 15:4 tells us to stay there right beside the Shepherd, “Abide in me” Are you following from afar or are you drawing close and remaining with the Redeemer? Why should we want to choose the “right paths”, because they are God’s best for us, so often we settle for second best. We can whine and complain about our situation but we are the ones who have settled. The Psalmist reminds us that He guides us for His name’s sake, the name of God represents the reputation of God, you can depend on the Shepherd to do what He says. We as people have a habit of putting our name on our work, Ford, Baldwin, God puts His name on us, we are His work. You can trust His paths because you can truths His promises. We can be sure and secure because we have a strong Shepherd whose word is true. How dependable are the promises of Psalm 23, as dependable as God Himself, I Thessalonians 5:24 says: “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” When we focus on the temporary it’s tempting to trade God’s truth, but His Word is eternal. Today what path are you on? Is it the right path or the wrong? Do you need to stop and surrender you preferences for His path? Today let me invite you to pray psalm 23 with me again:

Lord because you are my Shepherd, I commit my needs to you. Provide green pasture for me to lie in and still waters to sooth my soul. Restore and refresh as You love me by leading me in right paths for Your name’s sake. Deliver me from danger as I walk through wickedness. Protect me with Your power and prepare a table to feed me so my enemies can see Your provision. Anoint me with the oil of Your healing as I drink from Your full cup of peace, secure in the knowledge that goodness and mercy will always follow me and I will live with You forever. Amen

Psalm 23:2-3 “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul.”

Just as we saw last time the Shepherd meeting our two greatest wants, Love me and Accept me, now we see Him meeting our two greatest needs, Food, the green pastures and drink, the still waters. Jesus meets our restlessness through relationship. He starts by making us lie down in green pastures, but have you ever asked yourself why sheep lie down. First because they grow tired and need rest, you can’t be on the go all the time, it takes rest to replenish. Sometimes sheep lie down and are still for security, when we lie down in the Lord He hides us from the hurt. Today is there something that you need to lay at the feet of the Lord? Sheep also need to lie down to digest, they are ruminants that regurgitate their food and re-chew it, they can’t do that and continue eating so rumination occurs primarily when they are resting. Healthy mature sheep will chew their cud for several hours each day, requiring them to stop. We like sheep need to stop in order to soak in the Savior. We live in a non-stop noise filled world yet as we listen to the voice of the shepherd it directs us to slow down, even to lie down, so we can digest the green grass of God’s Word. We see lying down us unproductive yet sometimes we need to stop doing so we can start digesting. Sheep also lie down because they are content and satisfied with where the Shepherd has them. We are a restless bunch always searching for greener pasture, believing that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Yet what we call searching is really straying from the shepherd, our job is not to search but to be satisfied. Today you may need to stop and lie down right where the Lord has you, to stop searching and be satisfied in Him. We will never be content till we stop and spend time in His presence. We follow a Shepherd who chooses the green pastures which in the original language means the choice pastures. When we talk about the choice pastures these are not just the best they are His choice. He does not call us to the pastures of the past or the future that we are not ready for but the pastures of the present. It’s His choice because He knows us, He knows the pastures, He knows what is best. The Lord leads us to the pasture but He does not force us to eat, just as He leads us to the Scriptures, but we must, listen, memorize and meditate. The sheep don’t just eat the grass they also lie in it just as we must with the Word. The Shepherd chooses the pasture and we choose when and how much to eat. He makes me lie down because it’s what I need, He doesn’t use a sheep dog to chase me instead He provides what I need. God creates circumstances, the green grass looks so good the sheep want to lie down. He creates appetite and desire and, when needed, dangers to drive us from the desert and into His pleasant pasture. Second He leads me beside quiet waters, leading means He is out front not driving the sheep. He knows the way and faces the danger first, He leads because we are lost. He doesn’t point the way He provides the way, He doesn’t tells us where to find water, He takes us to water. The water He leads us to is what we need, it is still so we are able to drink without drowning. He doesn’t lead us to the rapids or the waterfall to feel its power because He is our power, He leads us to a place of tranquility where we can rest and relax. Water keeps us alive, it refreshes and revives us. Only water can quench our thirst, we thirst for what we need yet we often try to substitute His water for the world. Psalm 42:1 says that “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” What are you thirsting for today? Do you long for the Lord or have you been substituting the Savior for something that will never satisfy? The sad reality is that many of us are drowning in the drought.  John 4:14 tells us that the water that the Shepherd provides is “A well of water springing up into everlasting life” Only the Shepherd can refreshes the soul. Today I invite you again to pray psalm 23 with me:

Lord because you are my Shepherd, I commit my needs to you. Provide green pasture for me to lie in and still waters to sooth my soul. Restore and refresh as You love me by leading me in right paths for Your name’s sake. Deliver me from danger as I walk through wickedness. Protect me with Your power and prepare a table to feed me so my enemies can see Your provision. Anoint me with the oil of Your healing as I drink from Your full cup of peace, secure in the knowledge that goodness and mercy will always follow me and I will live with You forever. Amen