The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1(NKJV))
You Get to Choose
Who is your shepherd – the one who will guide and care for you? It’s your choice. God gave us free will. So, you get to choose who will shepherd your soul. You can be your own shepherd, making choices that seem right. Or you can submit your will to God.
Shepherding Yourself
When you shepherd yourself, you make decisions based on whatever doctrine sounds good to you. You may borrow a little from the Bible here and there when it suits you. But you don’t rely on God or follow His commands.
We see an example of this in the Book of Judges. The people did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6). And it never ended well for them. They always ended up crying out to God, for His mercy and help.
When you shepherd yourself, you’ll eventually look like a sheep that has wandered away from the flock. The wool grows and picks up the gunk from your sin along the way, choking your spiritual life.
Without God, life is empty and pointless. You may try to feel content by filling your life with other people and possessions. Or you might try to escape the emptiness with alcohol or drugs. Ultimately, nothing fully satisfies. The bottom line: we don’t make good shepherds.
Jesus as Your Shepherd
But with Jesus as your Shepherd, you can have an abundant spiritual life. As Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 (NKJV)). Jesus is the good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11). He willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins (John 10:17–18), so you could choose to let Him shepherd your soul.
When you follow Jesus, you don’t need anyone or anything else to be your shepherd. Jesus gives you all that your soul needs. With Jesus, you’ll have contentment and peace.
Sure, we still have times when we stray from our good Shepherd. But we’re miserable when we do. Although Jesus will bring us back, we can avoid a lot of heartache by staying close to Him in the first place.
So, let’s be like David when he declared in Psalm 23:1 that the Lord is his Shepherd. Stay close to Jesus. Keep your eyes on your good Shepherd and submit to His authority over your life. When you do, your soul will be completely satisfied as you walk by faith with Him.
Photo courtesy of Live Science
So true. We don’t make good shepherds.
Jesus is it for me because I accept Him as The Good Shepherd.
Avoid the heartache by staying close to Him.
After coming home from the military I became born again (1992 thru 1998).
Making Him Lord over my life took me well into my late 40s and 50s.
Don’t be a stinky sheep.
Thank you
Cathy!