The first time the Lord reveals his name to us is through the man after His own heart, David, in Psalms 23. "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
In this Psalm, "David expresses himself as ...a sheep. Knowing the reputation of sheep, not so bright, no leadership qualities, (they are followers) and ultimately dependent on another for their survival. David speaks in humility. David the sheep...is satisfied. In researching the life of a sheep, sheep are skittish, easily frightened, and tend to wander. They will only calm down when all their needs are met. And Who is meeting these needs? The Shepherd. David is saying, 'in my relationship with God, He satisfies all of me, my needs and my wants."
David also gives us a glimpse "of the Shepherd in the sheeps's life. We see the willingness to follow the Shepherd's working. The sheep is being made to lie down, rest, he is being lead beside quiet (still) waters. An interesting fact about the 'quiet, still' waters, the sheep will drown in swift water. Their wool is like a sponge that absorbs the water so that the sheep cannot swim out, so they are taken to a place that does not hold a potential threat."
"As the Shepherd provides for the sheep, as wonderful as this is, yet there is something that stands out...verse 6 'Surely goodness and love (mercy, loving-kindness) will follow me all the days of my life', as I looked at this in the original Hebrew, I was again reminded just to what lengths God will go to to get our attention. David speaks of the Shepherd's goodness and love, this action towards us meaning...God's loyalty, commitment...devotion. But God, the Shepherd does not stop with merely presenting us with His devotion...His devotion will 'follow me'. The word picture described is, God's favor chasing down the one whom He loves. It is NOT passive in the sense that God is tagging along behind us. NO, it is aggressive...He is hunting us down. Ever felt that way? In knowing this, we can stop and allow Him to catch us. He is motivated out of love. 1
So as you think about God's loyalty, His devotion to you, stop and take a moment and praise God for loving you so much that He is willing to chase after you to keep you safe and secure. Maybe you just need to realize you can't outrun the Shepherd and today is the day He longs to hear you call upon Him. He knows you by name and is waiting to shepherd you.
1 Devotions by DeDe, Knowing God by His Names.
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