“The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want”
Question: What does a shepherd do, and how have you seen God like a shepherd in your life?

What does a shepherd do?

In John 10, we learn from Jesus what a good shepherd does:
3: “he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
4: “he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”
7: “I am the door of the sheep”. The shepherd places himself at the entrance to the sheep pen to guard against thieves, robbers, and wolves.
11: “lays down his life for the sheep”;
14: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” The shepherd knows the sheep’s weaknesses and tendency to wander, and knows all they need for life;
16: “other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also”. The shepherd actively seeks out the lost sheep and guides them into his flock;
28: “neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” He guards and protects the sheep, he is always present, watching over them;

In My Life

3 – Calling and Leading: I have known people to whom Jesus has spoken aloud in clear words, and their changed lives is testimony to what they claim. That has not been my experience. For me, His calling was, and has been, in the stillness and silence of His presence, which draws me away from the flippant distractions of our world, pointing me to the better path He has prepared. While that leading may be quiet and gentle, when it is repeatedly given it is clear and unmistakable, and I can only ignore it by a deliberate choice of self-will.
I initially responded to His calling and was baptized when I was 12 years old, about to enter the turbulence of teenage years.
4 – Know His Voice: as we learn to follow His guidance, we come to know the way He speaks to us, and recognise His word as true. You may go on a long journey of searching and reading before you come to recognise that.
14: He Knows Me: and everything about me, all of my failings and wanderings. Yet even when I am unable to accept my failings, and would fall into despair through self-condemnation, He still loves me wants to draw me back to himself, and (11) gave His life for me.
28: He guards and protects me, even when I fail. I think I have shared before how during the turbulent stage of my mid-teen years, I was hanging around with a group of so-called friends, when I became aware most of them had gone, only to reappear about an hour later. When I asked, I was told, “Oh, we knew a goody-goody like you wouldn’t want to be part of what we were doing!” I hadn’t wanted to be a “goody-goody”, but other people could see His protection and guidance when I couldn’t.

Other Leaders

A minister I knew from many years ago had initially worked on a farm as a jackaroo. He related the story of when he was told to lead a flock of sheep across a creek, but they stopped and didn’t want to cross. So, he was told to take one of the larger sheep and carry it across the creek, and he found the rest of the flock followed.
I have likewise been blessed by God’s leading as He has carried other people through life, for me to follow in their path.