“The Lord is my shepherd;
I have everything that I need.
He lets me rest in green pastures.
He leads me to calm water”
Psalm 23:1,2
Looking out for number one. Be in control. Make yourself look good. Be at the top, or least near the top. This attitude seems to be a plague with which we are all afflicted.
We see it early with children in the playgrounds and sand boxes. We see it in homes, in schools, churches, organizations, at our work place and in the corporate world. Even in senior’s homes. When my husband’s father was bedridden in a hospital or in a wheelchair, we would notice how these older people would jockey for a position at the dinner table and in front of the television, pushing the wheelchairs of others. Pecking order until the day you die.
Phillip Keller, in his book, A Layman’s Look at the Twenty Third Psalm , writes about sheep and their “butting order.” One of the ewes is number one and she attains that position by butting the others into submission. The second in control ruthlessly butts the others into submission and so it goes right down the line to the last sheep. They all become fearful of each other and they can’t graze or lie down to rest because they are afraid.
Phillip Keller was a shepherd for years and knowingly explains that when the shepherd enters the field, the sheep instantly stop butting each other, calm down and relax. They know He is in control and will take care of them.
I reflected on the fact that the Bible often likens His people to sheep, and Christ the good shepherd. If Christ’s presence brings peace to a situation or place can we then conversely conclude that when there is friction, fighting, criticism and striving that Christ’s presence is not there? Or at the very least, we are not yielding to His control?
Think about it. Are you at rest today?
Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd. We pray for Your people today. There is so much competition, gossip, criticism and division in your flock. We pray for Your Presence to be in control. We pray for unity in your flock. In your precious name, amen.
By Katherine Kehler
Used by Permission
FURTHER READING
• Real Rest by John Grant