We as believers will often cultivate and nurture destructive thoughts and become our own enemy. Thoughts of loneliness, fear, anxiety, worry, envy, and immorality are more often the companions of the believer’s mind than we want to admit.
5 Practical Ways to Follow the Good Shepherd's Path
From time to time, I have found my wife searching on the internet for new recipes for our family dinner. She always makes great meals, but she will sometimes look for something different to change things up. I guess we all get into the habit of certain meal plans. The meals she prepares are great; however, we often need to prepare different meals for a broader, more balanced diet. This means she purposefully CHANGES the meal plan.
Some habits are not only good…some habits are essential (i.e. - eating, Bible reading, exercising, sleep, prayer, etc.…). However, there are some habits that need to change from time to time.
Good habits need to be changed up from time to time…this can make the habit even stronger.
Sheep are creatures of habit. If left to themselves, they will walk the same path and graze the same land until it is desolate and no grass will grow there again! A Shepherd must keep careful watch on the sheep and the land so that both are kept healthy. When the land is no longer providing enough for the sheep — and the land itself cannot handle any more grazing — then the sheep must move on to another area to graze. This new path is best for them and the land!*
It continues to be very interesting how the Lord has chosen sheep in Psalm 23 as a parallel to us as His children. Sheep are so set in their ways, that unless they are led on to new paths, they will ruin the land. We as God’s children are often very stiff-necked and stubborn people – desirous of staying right where we are spiritually. It is vital we as God’s children follow our good shepherd wherever He may lead.* To understand the need to follow the Shepherd, we must first understand:
Who We Are
Isaiah 53:6. The 5-year-old thinks he knows best when insisting for candy or several cookies right before dinner. The teenager thinks he knows best when insisting to drive his buddies to a college friend’s summer party and wanting a curfew of 3 AM. The young adult thinks he knows best when insisting on speeding in a snowstorm to get to work on time. We insist we know what is best for us even though the disastrous results may be self-evident.
Sometimes our reasoning goes something like this:
I believe it is best that I — sleep in and be late for work and skip my devotions … or keep a very full schedule and worry about finding time to fit God in later … or ignore my problems and hope they go away … or move away to solve my problems.
The Good Shepherd is leading us … we need to willingly follow!
Who He Is
Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd comes gently and says 7 statements in the gospel of John to tell us who He is:
BREAD OF LIFE. “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Jn. 6:35
LIGHT OF THE WORLD. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jn. 8:12
THE DOOR. “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” Jn. 10:9
THE GOOD SHEPHERD. ”I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep….I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” Jn. 10:11, 14
THE RESURRECTION & THE LIFE. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Jn. 11:25-26
THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE. “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me.” Jn. 14:6
THE TRUE VINE. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Jn. 15:1-2
I remember being a teen and at a church youth group activity. Much to my disappointment, my ride needed to leave before the activity was completely over. I knew I needed to leave, but I REALLY did not want to leave! Instead, I drug my feet on the departure and made it pretty awkward for my ride. This revealed my selfishness and refusal “to come” when asked.
The difficult point is that many believers do not want to “come.” In other words, many do not want to follow. Many do not want to be led in the paths of righteousness, because many think their way is better. To put it bluntly, we don’t want to…
Tithe…we believe our financial plan is better
Get baptized…we think we are too old or it is not necessary
Speak truth…we think deception is better than truth
Submit our will to God…we think it’s depressing to not have our own will embraced
Listen…we already have all the answers; no one can tell me what to do…I already know everything I need to know.
Be approved of God…in truth, we want to be approved of mankind more than we want to be approved of God!
As students of the Bible, we already know that each of these examples are Biblical commands or truths taught in scripture. It is our selfishness and pride and reveals our refusal “to come” to Jesus.
What We Must Do
When the Klingler’s were going on an extended vacation, they asked their nine-year-old neighbor, Mike, about taking care of the family dog. They explained that the job would require feeding, watering, grooming, walking, and spending plenty of time playing with the dog while giving her lots of love. After covering the job description, they asked what the job would be worth to him. The little boy replied, “I’ll give you ten bucks.” (Source: Unknown. Ministry.org)
Jesus never made light of the cost involved in following Him. In fact, He made it painfully clear that it was a rugged life of rigid self-denial! (Luke 9:23)
So, here are 5 practical ways to follow the Shepherd’s Paths:
1. Love God. Instead of loving myself most, I am willing to love Christ best and others more than myself. (Matt. 22:37-39)
2. God-Focused. Fear God above all others. Instead of being one of the crowd, I am willing to be singled out, set apart from the gang. (Prov. 8:13; Eccl. 12:13)
3. Others Minded. Instead of insisting on my rights, I am willing to forego them in favor of others. (Phil. 2:3)
4. Servant’s Heart. Instead of being the boss, I am willing to be at the bottom of the heap (especially when I am the boss!). (Mk. 10:45)
5. Thankful. Instead of finding fault with life and always asking “Why,” I am willing to accept every circumstance of life with an attitude of gratitude. (Ps. 107:1)
A man had a habit of grumbling at the food his wife placed before him at family meals. Then he would ask the blessing. One day after his usual combination complaint-prayer, his little girl asked, “Daddy, does God hear us when we pray?”
“Why, of course,” he replied. “He hears us every time we pray.”
She paused on this a moment, and asked, “Does He hear everything we say the rest of the time?”
“Yes, dear, every word,” he replied, encouraged that he had inspired his daughter to be curious about spiritual matters. However, his pride was quickly turned to humility at his daughter’s next question.
“Then, which does God believe?” (Source: Unknown. Ministry127.org)
God calls us to be led by Him in the paths of righteousness. Am I willing to follow? Am I following while dragging my heals? Or am I following Him with expectation and anticipation?
* Resource: A Shepherd’s Look at the 23rd Psalm, Phillip Keller