The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:11 (NIV)
We have a God and He loves us. He leads us through life and we enjoy all the benefits of being led by Him when we are fully surrendered to Him. He calls us to a life of faith, a life of following Him and trusting in His leading thoroughly; to let go of what we know and to lean into His faithfulness. This means there might be uncertainties and we may not know how to fully hold on to Him; but He encourages us to trust Him. When we follow Him, we need to trust that the events that go on around us are by His leading. He leads us into things for various reasons and everything He leads us into is for our own good and His glory.
Why do we trust in God’s leading?
- He is good.
- He is wise.
His goodness leads us to what is beneficial for us and His wisdom assures us that everything He leads us to will not lead to our death but His glory. He is good enough to build us up and wise enough to not allow the things that go on around us kill us.
He led Jesus into the wilderness and in the wilderness not only was He with Him but gave Him victory. Jesus defeated the devil and God remains glorified to this day. It was victory before victory. This was to prepare Jesus for His ultimate victory – the crucifixion. God also led the Israelites into the wilderness and in the wilderness, He defeated the armies of the Egyptians and was glorified. Again, this was victory before their ultimate victory. This route was to prepare the Israelites for the upcoming battles with the nations that possessed the land promised to them by God.
He leads us through tough times to prepare us; in those times we need to trust that He is with us, holding our hands and that we will conquer. When you cannot see what God is doing, trust in His love and faithfulness. When things around you do not make sense, trust God whose ways are mysterious but yield great results. God’s leading is for our good – it strengthens us and this gives Him glory. God’s leading can be trusted. He is able to lead us in such a way that builds and protects us. The benefits of being led by God supersede any type of surrender we could ever give to Him.
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” Psalm 23:1 (NIV)
Psalm 23:1 (NIV)
He leads us to help us understand His ways and conquers for us so we can trust in His ways. They are wise and good.
“He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel.”
Psalm 103:7 (NIV)
“Then He got into the boat and his disciples followed him.”
Matthew 8:23 (NIV)
The disciples of Jesus were caught up in a storm while following Him. It was obedience in their hearts and the desire to be where Jesus was that got them caught up in a storm. When they panicked, Jesus calmed the storm for them – victory over the storm in preparation for their ultimate victory, crossing over. They sailed smoothly and reached their destination. Their faith was built and Jesus was glorified as One who commands nature to obedience. When Peter started drowning at sea when he was walking on water following Jesus and acting on His faith, He had already conquered doubt and Jesus taught Him to hold on to faith because should faith fail, He will catch Him. Faith never fails.
We need to trust in Jesus and His word. We need to act on our faith and not lose it when things around us become a mess or panic has its toll on us. We need to hold on to faith, trust in God’s leading because He is the Good Shepherd. He is good and He is wise. This is God whom we have in our hearts – Jesus who calms storms that seek to ruin us. He builds us up and receives glory for Himself. He is wise and good. We need to trust Him.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
We know God is three in One – He is Father (God), Spirit (Holy Spirit) and Son (Jesus).