Our Leading Shepherd

Chuckle: A ten-year-old astounded her grandmother with this question: "Which virgin was the mother of Jesus -- the Virgin Mary or the King James Virgin?"

Good Quote: "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

"He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23:3 KJV). "He guides me along the right paths, bringing honor to his name" (NLT).

One of the greatest admissions we can make is that we need someone greater than ourselves to lead us through this perilous journey called life. But it's difficult for many of us to admit that we aren't capable of making the transit successfully on our own. Before we are ready to make such an admission, we must learn to see ourselves as the "Good Shepherd" sees us -- as sheep in desperate need of His leading and guidance. He knows that without His direction, we will wander off course at every turn and fail at life.

We will be the people God wants us to be only when we submit to His leadership in every aspect of life. Proverbs 3:5 provides instructions and conditions for us to fully benefit from God's leadership. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths." Here, Solomon tells us we must seek God's will in all we do. In other words, we must trust Him to the point of turning our lives completely over to Him. When we do this, we have the assurance He will lead us along His preferred path for us.

Make no mistake, God does have a plan for your life and mine and He wants to lead us along the path of righteousness. "God has planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:40 NIV). "Therefore, . . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1 NIV). The course we are to run has been planned by God Himself long ago. Unless we allow ourselves to be led by the One who made us and cares for us we are sentencing ourselves to lives filled with uncertainties and bad decisions.

As He leads us along life's pathway, it is His desire that we become righteous -- live the right way. "Righteousness" involves having our character become more and more Christ-like each day. This will cause us to faithfully follow God's lead and sharpen our desire to let His will govern the way we live. He gives us strength and courage for the journey as He leads us and supplies our every need.

Love, Jerry & Dotse