“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.… Yea, 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.” (Psalm 23:1,4 NKJV)
I grew up in a big church in downtown Atlanta. When I was twelve, I remember being in our seventh-grade boy’s Sunday school room. Tan linoleum floor. Cinderblock walls, also tan. Metal folding chairs. Maps of Paul’s missionary journeys on the wall. A window with blinds -- always closed. And on the far wall a big painting of the “meek and mild” Jesus. You know what I’m talking about? His face was pale. He looked like He hadn’t been outside in a long time. His robe was perfect. His hair was perfect. He had a woolly lamb on His shoulders and a crook in His hand -- and Jesus was gazing off into Foreverland with a faraway look in His eyes. But Olan Mills Portrait Studios Jesus is nothing like the real thing.
He’s your hero. Your defender. He’s the mighty Son of God! When you are up against life and death, when your back’s against a wall, when circumstances are poised to take you out, and when the Devil is whispering lies in your ear, you need to know there’s an all-powerful Good Shepherd with a rod in one hand and a staff in the other. That’s the Jesus of Psalm 23. That’s why we find comfort in His presence. With that staff, the Good Shepherd can grab you and pull you to safety. And with that rod, He can crush any prowling lion or raging bear that charges you.
-- Louie Giglio in “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table”
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