"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake."
–The song of the psalmist(Psalm 23; NIV)
Almost always, the thought of being likened to a sheep, or even worse, a lamb, sends people to the highest form of outrage. The more they think about it, the more outrageous it seems.
Humans generally have never been the dependent sort. And now more than ever there is pressure to stand on your own, for yourself, and learn to rely on you only because no one else would be there for you. There is nothing farther from the truth than that statement, for there is someone more than willing to stand for you and hold you up so you never stay alone. And yet how hard it is for us to come to terms with this: for us to accept it for what it truly is– the promise of God, a loving guide, to keep and guide us for the rest of our days.
For more than half of the world's population, letting go is the hardest thing, for letting go is you placing your life in the hands of another– every vulnerability, every flaw and every heart-desire, made to rest in the palm of their hand. And to give it to God, someone we can not see with our physical eyes, the most difficult part of it all.
However, truth remains the truth and what fears we have do not change it. To experience the fullness of life, and the chiefest of pleasures, one must be ready to assume the similitude of a lamb at heart– wholly trusting, ever leaning, and completely dependent upon the shepherd.
The pressure of wanting to get life right, gets to us more than anything and everyday a great number of the world's population spend their days undergoing activities for the sole purpose of 'making it count' or 'achieving something worthwhile'.
The fear of not being able to find the 'more that there is to life' pushes men more than anything I have seen. Having to place our lives then before the Chief shepherd with the heart of a lamb is what our hearts see as the greatest of risks. But truly, it is the surest of paths. In reality, the only true path.
"He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake."
Our life is a journey of trust. A story of our growth in dependence. And as we submit daily to the one who loves us and has promised to help us for the sake of His own name, we would experience the exceptional joy and benefits that come from trusting Him with everything.
ke known to me the path of life; you willme with joy in your presence, wial pleasures at yo
ke ku wioy in your prese
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