I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭1‬-‭4‬
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Shepherds lead sheep, which are notoriously skittish, dumb, and invariably get themselves into challenging situations. My wife showed me a video of a sheep running into a ditch. Then, after the shepherd pulls it out of the ditch and sets it on the flat ground, it proceeds to run into the ditch all over again. It does this over and over again!

So one chief quality of a shepherd is patience. They also have to plan ahead for watering holes, pastures to graze on and safe places to sleep at night. The sheep don’t seem to worry about these things or understand the shepherd’s long-term planning moves. They are into immediate gratification.

So it is with me at times. I know God promises to always provide for me. I can see his hand of provision in some areas of my life. However, in the areas I want reward or resolution, I sometimes fail to trust him. I get weak in the spiritual knees.

This is where these passages on Jesus being our shepherd are so valuable to me. They remind me that God is a person. He feels. He understands heartache and pain. And yet he is also an all-powerful God who plans ahead for my good. Rocky places must, at times, be traversed to get to the pastures or to safe places to rest. He knows. He leads. And I get to follow.

Where are you today? Are you in a place of challenge? Will you trust God to see you through, to guide you, to lead you through the challenge? Will you submit to his leadership and walk in his ways? (I have to ask myself these questions sometimes daily.)

Lord, thank you for being The Good Shepherd. I can trust you. I can follow you, even when the indicator lights around me seem to be flashing. Because you have a plan for my good. You are most powerful, and you can make it happen!