“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” (Psalm 23:1 NLT)
If you’re a Jesus follower your soul has a Shepherd. What does that mean? Why should it matter to us that we have a Shepherd? Why do we need a Shepherd? These and many other questions come to mind as I contemplate the essential nature of our great need to have a loving, kind, and gentle Shepherd.
Sheep may not be the brightest “bulb” in God’s animal pack, but contrary to popular opinion, neither are they completely without intelligence. On some levels the comparison between sheep and people isn’t as far-fetched as we might imagine. Just as sheep need a shepherd to guide and protect them, we as Jesus followers need those things more than we like to realize.
John Piper wrote: “Let it sink in that your soul has a Shepherd. Your soul has an Overseer.” An Overseer, like a shepherd, guards, guides, and protects their “sheep.” Like human beings, sheep can become easily distracted and allow themselves to be separated from the “flock.” It doesn’t really matter how old, big, or strong a sheep is, they’re no match for a lion, bear, or many other would-be predators.
Many of us as believers, especially if we’ve walked with the Lord for a while, are tempted to overestimate our spiritual strength, and too often underestimate the power of our enemy, the devil. When I was in Junior High there was a kid in our neighborhood whose name was Joe. Joe wasn’t dumb, but for whatever reason was a grade or two behind.
He was handsome, dressed nicely, was a good athlete, and well liked, but was bigger than most of his peers and wouldn’t back down from a fight. One day someone grossly underestimated Joe’s skills and challenged him to fight. I didn’t have a stopwatch, but it couldn’t have taken more than 15 seconds for this guy to end up on the ground, drained of any incentive to continue.
That’s the way it is with us when we engage the enemy of our soul. We don’t stand a chance, and the irony is, we don’t have any need to engage any enemy. We only need to be strong in our resolve to let King Jesus fight our battles for us. He’s never lost a battle and never will. What’s more, there’s no one who loves us more and is more than willing to fight our battles for us.
“Yeh,” you might think, “What about His defeat on the Cross?” And I’ll have to admit, things were very dark for a few days, but then Sunday came when King Jesus burst forth from the grave forever defeating sin, death, and the grave. In a very real sense, the Cross wasn’t even a setback, it was simply the strategy God designed before the foundation of the world was laid. His plan all along was for us to find freedom from sin and wholeness in Jesus after He paid the penalty for our sin and purchased for us our place in heaven.
For Satan to challenge us is understandable, until you factor in the Shepherd of our soul. For Satan to challenge King Jesus is like an ant challenging a dinosaur, it’s no contest. We only need to remember that we never have to fight our battles alone when we’re willing to seek the Lord and trust Him to stand with us.
He is ALWAYS with us, but if we aren’t willing to acknowledge His presence and allow Him to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves, it’s like a sheep wandering from the flock. Please take stock of your position with the Lord Jesus and make sure you haven’t wandered off into enemy territory.
Sometimes I fear we get entangled in battles we could easily win if we’d only remember our soul has a Shepherd.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 