We are all familiar with Psalm 23, but it may be tough for
you to relate to the Lord is my shepherd analogy or description. However, all of us are parents. I asked Austin and Ashley Adams to bring 3
week old baby Nora to LG to help us remember how completely dependent a small
baby is on parents. Nora relies 100% on her parents to meet all of her
needs. At this point in her life, little
Nora is not falling to the sin of pride or self sufficiency as we tend to do
with our Heavenly Daddy. How can we
return to the 100% reliance on our Heavenly Daddy?
During class, we read part of Dr. Tony Evans book called
God Is More Than Enough. His book is a
study on Psalm 23 and he helps us understand the shepherd analogy. First thing we need to do is realize that we
are sheep. He states “But in order for Him to be your Shepherd,
you must first recognize yourself as a sheep. Shepherds don’t tend wolves or
dogs; shepherds shepherd sheep. And if you don’t think of yourself as a sheep,
you’re not qualified to receive Him as your Shepherd. That’s why many of us
aren’t seeing God meet our needs. We haven’t decided yet that we are sheep.” And like sheep, we are dumb,
defenseless, and dirty.
My challenge to
you this week is to spend time with God and tell him that you are a
sheep. Ask God to show you areas in your
life that you are not allowing Him to meet your needs. What barriers of self-sufficiency are you putting
up against your shepherd? Share what you
have learned with your family and in LG next Saturday.
Be intentional.
Travis
