HELLO MY NAME IS ....

 

November 22, 2024

Psalm 23:1–3

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.”


We finish up the week of devotions we have called “hello my name is …..” with probably the most well known name for God in the Bible, Jehovah-Raah – The Lord is my Shepherd.

There is a popular personality test that compares people to animals. Maybe you have experienced this test in your workplace or educational learning. According to the profile, we are either like a lion, an otter, a beaver, or a golden retriever.

However when it comes to the Biblical view the creature we are most like, all of us, is a sheep.

Are you flattered by this? Probably not. For sheep are notoriously foolish. They’ll eat deadly herbs if you don’t watch them carefully. Or they’ll panic and wander straight into danger. That’s double trouble when it happens, because sheep can’t defend themselves against predators.

Here is something to be thankful about, if we are like sheep (and it’s true—we are Bible says so), God is like a shepherd. This is the great idea of Psalm 23, perhaps the world’s most beloved Bible passage. In it, David, the former shepherd, shows how God faithfully tends to all our needs.

The primary meaning of shepherd (Ra’ah) is to feed, to tend, to lead to pasture. To do all this, a shepherd must be up close and personal, intimately aware of the needs of his sheep.

A shepherd is the protector of his flock. This is why he carries a rod to fight off predators that would harm even one of his flock.

If all that is what a shepherd does, what’s the job description of sheep? Easy. A sheep trusts its shepherd. As sheep, we follow. We go where our Shepherd leads. We do what He tells us to do. We look to Him to supply all our needs.

When we say, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” we are humbly admitting, and gratefully acknowledging, that we need God to guide us and to know the deepest needs of our life. Psalm 23 reminds us that Our Jehovah-Raah is with us! 

Today take a moment and think about the ways that you have experienced God as a Good Shepherd to you. Give thanks.

LET US PRAY

God, You are my good Shepherd. Help me trust that You see what’s coming on the horizon and that You know the best path for me. Amen.