This Starts with Trust
Last week we discussed the popular story of David facing Goliath and the courage it took. We looked at how we need to be more courageous when facing the giants in our own lives.
This past week was Vacation Bible School, and the focus was on David as a shepherd and our need for a Shepherd.
Sheep are not the smartest creatures, but neither are we. Sheep operate on instinct. We, on the other hand, have the ability to think through situations and consider the consequences of our actions. Yet we still make foolish decisions!
God shows us time and time again what is right and wrong, yet we continue to choose the wrong path. We find ourselves stuck in the same rut time and time again. (See the video in the link above)
Maybe we’re less smart than sheep.
There is no doubt that sheep need a shepherd to take care of them. David was confident in his ability to take care of his father’s sheep. This is evident in 1 Samuel 17:34-37 when David told Saul:
“Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
The sheep needed a shepherd who was confident in protecting them.
This sounds like David was pretty confident.
That doesn’t mean that David never made sheep-like mistakes. Later in life, David reflected on those failures and recognized how much he needed God as his Shepherd. In Psalm 23 he wrote:
“The LORD is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He lets me rest in grassy meadows; he leads me to restful waters; he keeps me alive. He guides me in proper paths for the sake of his good name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger because you are with me. Your rod and your staff—they protect me.”
David’s confidence wasn’t really in himself. It was in the One who had always been with him.
We need that same confidence, when we trust in God, we can trust that he will protect us, guide us, and never leave us.
In John 10:11-18, Jesus tells us that He is the Good Shepherd:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. When the hired hand sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. That’s because he isn’t the shepherd; the sheep aren’t really his. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. He’s only a hired hand and the sheep don’t matter to him.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I give up my life for the sheep.”
Having confidence in our Shepherd begins with trusting Him.
Do you trust the Good Shepherd to have your back in every situation?
We need to learn to trust Him and avoid falling into the same rut but instead walk confidently wherever He leads.