Have you ever asked yourself, I know why sheep need a shepherd, but why do I need one?  I found myself asking this very question as I studied the 23rd Psalm before work one morning.  As I read, the Holy Spirit seemed to answer the question for me, illuminating my need for Him with each verse.  

It went something like this:  I read Psalm 23:1 (NLT) ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.’ And my spirit heard, I am all that you need.  With Me as your leader and guide there is nothing you lack.  I then read verses 2 and 3.  ‘He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams.  He renews my strength.  He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.’  Again I heard His voice like the whispering wind.  I take care of all your needs, physical, spiritual, and mental so that you might be a reflection of my love and that I might be glorified in you.  I went on to read verse 4, ‘Even when I walk through the darkest valley (or dark valley of death), I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.’ His words again filled my heart.  No matter what you walk through, I am there with you.  No matter where I lead you or what you currently face.  Both my discipline and leadership are meant for your good and my glory.  You can trust me.

Little did I know the impact those words would have on me as I went through the coarse of my day.  God is so faithful to prepare us for what we don’t even know is coming.  Just like David was declaring in those verses, God was already doing in my life.  He was guiding, directing, and bringing to my attention what I was going to need that day even before I encountered it, even before I stepped foot outside of my home.  

When my boss called me into His office and got up to shut the door after I sat down, those verses began to remind me that I was a beloved sheep in the care of a good shepherd and that I could trust Him even though my world was slowly (or not so slowly) about to change.  

When the meeting was over and I retreated to my office knowing that in a few minutes someone would be interviewing for the job I loved, I audibly told God, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”  Oh, but I did.  He had prepared me in advance.  Just like His Word says in Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) ‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’  

With His help I could do this.  I grabbed my pen and a scrap piece of paper and declared my intentions to the Lord.  I’m going to trust you as my good shepherd.  I’m going to lean not on my own understanding, but in all of my ways, I will choose to acknowledge and honor you.  

When fear told me that I didn’t have what it takes to tackle the new job I was being transferred to, I again sought a pen and sketched out a prayer to God.  Help me to trust you.  It’s so easy to lean on my own understanding, to lean on and trust in what I know.  Please help me to stay surrendered to your leading even though I don’t know why you’ve moved my pasture.  Help me to stay moldable, pliable, and surrendered to you as my leader and guide.

Why do I need a shepherd?  Because, my Shepherd knows all and I do not.  Even before the change, my God was preparing me for my new journey.  Before I knew of the move, He was scouting out a new place for me.  He was sheltering me, allowing me to rest, and enabling me to endure all that was before me through His power, might, insight, understanding, and love.

Yes, I can trust my good Shepherd.  Will you join me in allowing the Lord Jesus Christ to not just be someone you’ve heard about or someone you know of?  Will you make Him Lord of your life, surrendering to His path for you?  For His names’ sake?

‘Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.  For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.  Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness.”’  Psalms 95:6-8 (NKJV)

We have a saying in our household.  “The grass is not always greener on the other side, it’s just different.”  Why do I say this over and over to my kids?  Well, sometimes it’s a reminder for myself, but most of the time it’s a warning to my children to not engage in the comparison game. 

Comparison is great when you’re buying a new product, deciding on a future career path, or planning a trip.  But when it comes to relationships, comparison is a joy killer, confidence robber, and an outright antagonist.  It can take a cohesive work environment and turn it hostile.  It destroys camaraderie, erodes the best of relationships, and causes us to keep an account of all wrongs.  This last part goes directly against 1 Corinthians 13:5 which tells us that love isn’t rude, self-seeking, or irritable and that it keeps no record of being wronged.  If we as Christians are called to love, comparison has no place among us. 

So the next time you feel the need to compare yourself to that co-worker, the one with the new office, the one that doesn’t have as much work as you do; instead compare yourself to the standard of Jesus Christ who didn’t cling to his rights as the Son of God, but instead humbled himself to the point of death for you and me.  When you find yourself keeping a tally of who does more in the house, who has what you have always wanted, who got the promotion you deserved, who is receiving the admiration you desire; might I suggest that you take your eyes off of that imaginary greener pasture you think they have and put them on the person of Jesus Christ instead.

If we are to have fellowship with one another, if we are to live this life in a way that pleases God and brings Him glory, comparison should have no place in our lives.  It needs to be cast off and thrown aside along with jealousy, back-biting, fault finding, gloating, and everything else that stands in the way of us walking in love toward one another.  When we are busy doing the work of the Father, when our eyes are focused on the Son, we won’t have time to engage in the petty things that bring us down and hurt our witness.