THE ALL-POWERFUL GOOD SHEPHERD – Part 1 of 2

“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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DEFEND ME, GOD

“I depend on God alone; I put my hope in Him. He alone protects and saves me; He is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; He is my strong protector; He is my shelter.” (Psalm 62:5-7 GNT)

Sovereign God, defend me from all temptation, that I may ever accept the right and refuse the wrong. Defend me from myself, that in Your care my weakness may not bring me to shame. May my lower nature never seize the upper hand.

Defend me from all that would seduce me, that in Your power no tempting voice may cause me to listen, no tempting sight fascinate my eyes.

Defend me against the chances and changes of this life, not that I may escape them but that I may meet them with firm resolve; not that I may be saved from them but that I may come unscathed through them.

Defend me from discouragement in difficulty and from despair in failure, from pride in success, and from forgetting You in the day of prosperity.

Help me to remember that there is no time when You will fail me and no moment when I do not need You.

Grant me this desire: that guided by Your light and defended by Your grace, I may come in safety and bring honor to my journey’s end by the defending work of Jesus Christ my Lord. May it always be so! 

-- Adapted from Norman Shawchuck in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

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DEPENDENCE ON THE LORD

“I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; He is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; He is my strong protector; He is my shelter. Trust in God at all times, my people. Tell Him all your troubles, for He is our refuge.”  (Psalm 62:5-8 GNT)

No one likes the idea of "dependence". With the countless scores of people hopelessly addicted to cocaine, alcohol and other drugs the idea of dependence generally takes on a negative meaning. We teach our children to be self-reliant and to stand strong in the world -- to make their own way. Perhaps we should spend more time helping them to understand that we must, simply must, develop a complete and total dependence on the Lord Almighty. Nothing or no person can provide for our eternal needs -- only the Lord Jesus Christ.

-- Pastor Gary Stone

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