November 21, 2024

Shepherd, Carry Me

October 18, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

The Lord is the strength of His people, a Fortress of salvation for His anointed one. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever.
Psalms 28:8 and 9

Throughout the 28th Psalm, there are such vibrant pictures—an allegory—painted with words by David, the psalmist.

He portrays Almighty God as his Rock, Strength, Shield, Refuge, and as Shepherd.  As I have meditated on this psalm, I have been drawn to my God, being comforted by all these powerful attributes of my God.  But it is this final attribute, that of Shepherd (in verse 9), that pulls my heart in close to Him. It tells of tenderness, and love, and gentleness.

Typically we think of a person who shepherds sheep as one who tends, guards, feeds, leads, protects, guides, governs, and provides for the sheep.  But to an even greater degree, our God does likewise for His people.  So many times, especially here in the Book of Psalms, David calls  God “Shepherd.”  Now David, of all people, understood what a shepherd does!  When Samuel was led to David’s family to choose the king, David, the youngest, was out shepherding the sheep.

The Lord said to Samuel…I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite.  For I have provided for Myself a king among his sons…and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen any of these.  Then he said to Jesse, Are all your sons here?  Jesse said, There is yet the youngest; he is tending the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse, Send for him; for we will not sit down to eat until he is here.  Jesse sent and brought him. David had a healthy reddish complexion and beautiful eyes, and was fine-looking. The Lord said to Samuel, Arise, anoint him; this is he.

1 Samuel 16:1-3, 10-12

David, having been the shepherd (lowercase ‘s’) understood in his relationship with Almighty God the awesome ways that God cared for Him—that God was his Shepherd (capital ‘S’).  Perhaps we can each take time today to think about how we are shepherded by Almighty God, our Father.

* * * * *

Lord, You are the Shepherd of our souls!  You truly have always fed, and guided, and provided, and led, and carried us.  Help us to always recognize Your call!  We praise You and thank You for carrying us when we cannot seem to go one step more, when we have no strength of our own left, when we don’t know which way to go.  May we rest in Your arms, Faithful Father!  Amen.

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My Strength, My Shepherd

October 17, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

 

Praise be to the LORD, for He has heard my cry for mercy.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.

The LORD is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one.

Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalms 28:6-9

In the stillness of the dark night when hurt and problems have plagued my heart and mind, I have cried out to my Lord for mercy and help.  And He has been there to be my Strength and my Shield when I was completely broken and weak.  The Lord shines when I am weak.  “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).   He’s sustained me and strengthened me time and time again in the darkest hours. And then, dawn breaks.

How wonderful it would be to sit at the foot of two overlapping, tall mountains and gaze upward as the sun casts its streaming light between the jagged mountain edges at sunrise on a cool, crisp fall morning.  To read this Scripture passage in such a moment would probably make me want to break into singing praise music as I recall God’s faithfulness and love toward me during the most difficult times in my life.  I would desire for the sun to pause at the moment which is the most beautiful to me, but it must continue on its path, as we must also.  There will be plenty of times of joy and laughter, but realistically, we know we will encounter more dark hours ahead.  But the Lord will be there with us to help us endure heartaches and pain.  He’s our Strength and Fortress of salvation.  He cares for Israel; He cares for us.

David wrote Psalm 28 and penned, “Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.”  David knew the deep concern and watchfulness that was required of a shepherd for he had been one. He knew God as the greatest Shepherd ever.

Soon, I’m headed to the mountains like I described earlier. And as I sit there looking up at those majestic mountains before me, I will imagine David as a shepherd boy near the mountainside chasing after a wooly animal wandering away or being led astray by another.  I’ll imagine David, with staff in hand, calling for the creature getting away. Do you think the sheep would recognize his voice?  Then, quickly, I’ll think of how the great Shepherd has carried me back to where He’s desired me to be and away from my own course that could’ve caused my heart to end up in a wrong place!  I’ve been like that wandering sheep where God has called me back to join His people “in the fold” of fellowship with others and in my rightful place.  “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4).

My prayer of praise:  I praise my God, my Shepherd – Who has met my cries with mercy, Who has met my weakness with strength, Who has helped me, and Whom I trust.  I will continue to sing praises to Him.  I know full well that He will carry me while in the valleys, while on the mountaintops, or in the journey I take toward either!

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Not a Part of This World

October 16, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.  Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors:  give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.  Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them, and not build them up.
Psalms 28:3-5

Is it just me, or does the world seem like it is going downhill?  I have a fairly good memory, and thinking back to when I was a kid, I don’t remember so much violence being reported or so much backlash against Christianity.  To me, things were better in the 80’s and early 90’s.  I am not going to try to figure out what is wrong with this world.  There are just too many answers to why.  However, it is all part of God’s plan.

It is amazing that God was already predicting and telling through His chosen writers what would be happening during our times. God already knows what He is going to do.  We may not know what that is, but the main thing is that we stay on God’s side.  It is hard not to get mixed in with the crowd of people who are going against God’s will and helping to self-destruct the human race.

God calls on us not to mix with those who go against His will.  After a long simmering period, God destroys those who do not follow Him or obey His commands.  Our God is slow to anger, and our world is slowly but surely angering Him.  Natural disasters are on the rise.  Economies are collapsing.  It is only a matter of time.

However, God does not want us to get mixed in with this group.  He wants us to stay on His side. He warns us to stay away.  The Israelites mixed in with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Both were destroyed.  Those who did not choose God were destroyed.  Sadly, our world is becoming more and more like a modern Sodom and Gomorrah.  Eventually, it will all be gone. In order to get to the Kingdom of God, we must follow God’s will.  We should not want or yearn to be part of the coming destruction.

* * * * *

Dear Heavenly Father, “Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up forever” Psalm 28:9.  Be with us through this rough time as the world turns against You.  Keep us strong and faithful. In Jesus name.

Amen.

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