Jehovah-raah: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  Kay Arthur reminds us that though life is often difficult, and we may see more failure than success, we are not to be concerned with worldly successes.  Here she introduces a key point to the rest of the chapter: There is a difference between the natural and the spiritual, between our ways and Gods ways.  Positive thinking is humanistic.  Even though it gives lip service to God, it still puts man in the center.  It says, “believe in your self; and you can do it.” (p.139).  Humanistic thinking promotes self-reliance.  However, we must be a people who rely on God, not on ourselves.  As always, God’s message clashes with the message of our culture.  The Truth is…we are lost without God.  Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  But of course in this chapter, we are the sheep and He is the Shepherd.  And so we begin this chapter by examining John 10 where Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).  The book of John is known for the many “I am” statements (catch that? Jesus says “I AM”!).  Here Jesus introduces Himself as the Good Shepherd ,which is also a reference to Psalm 23, where David compares God to a Shepherd and himself to the sheep. 

Kay Arthur does a great job of explaining all about sheep.  Sheep are dumb, helpless creatures that are lost and vulnerable on their own without a shepherd.  They don’t look where they are going; they can even nibble themselves off a cliff!  They need to be led to food and water and cannot protect themselves from predators.  The shepherd must carefully look after each of them so they will be healthy and productive members of his flock.  We are no different.  KA says that Psalm 23 (and the relationship between us and God) can be summarized by the first verse, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”.  Because He cares for me, I have everything I need.  Of course He knows best about what we actually need so here is the problem many people have: we have to trust that He really does know best.  KA shows that when we accept God’s provision for us, we can truly be at peace.  He keeps us free from spiritual hunger, free from fear, free from friction with others, and free from pests.  Here are some selected verses KA gave for each one:

Freedom from spiritual hunger:

Freedom from fear:

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love 1 John 4:16   Here is a cool video about God delivering us from fear – great bible verses, great song!

Freedom from friction (with others):

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matt 5:23-25  So often we want to be right more than we want to be in right relationship with others…God frowns on this, fo’ sho’!

Freedom from (spiritual) pests: 

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Cor. 10:3-5  Sometimes we must fight off evils that come at us from every angle, trying to distract us.  Sometimes we have to fight off the harmful thoughts and attitudes from within that can defeat us.

S0 I don’t know about you, but today I a resolving NOT to nibble myself off a cliff…may not sound like much, but it’s really a good start!  Following Him will definitely lead us to much better places.

JustaGirl…just like you