How Do You Walk??

Jesus is our shepherd king. The Old Testament is filled with testimonies and guidance towards understanding that the Messiah is going to be like a shepherd king. For most of us today the understanding of what it means to be a shepherd is lost to us. However up until the industrial revolution the concept of being a shepherd was understood by a large majority of the population and if we go back towards the time of the Old Testament it certainly would have been a concept that was well understood. Psalm 23 is probably one of the most well known parts of the Bible, let us take a moment, grab a cup of tea and re read it.

Just to give a bit of quick context, this psalm was written by king David, he himself started his journey with God as a shepherd boy, the youngest of his siblings, so this was an analogy that was at the root of his heart. There are some great literature about this psalm so I won’t go into the details of it, if you would like to really dig into it this is my recommended book:
“A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23” by Phillip Keller. He really breaks down the imagery to help us today understand the life of a shepherd and what it means to have Jesus be our Shepherd King. But some quick pointers that will bring some relevance to the topic ahead, sheep can only drink water from still puddles/ponds/lakes, aka sheep can not drink water if it is running fast. Sheep are also pretty stupid and will tend to stick in the same place and eat the same spot until there is nothing to eat and then they will starve (how often does God have to push us out of our comfort zones?). Also sheep have a tendency to fall over, sadly if a sheep rolls over, they are stuck there unless their shepherd comes to pick them back up (how easy is it for us to fall over or fall off the path of righteousness and we need grace, forgiveness and to be saved by our King?). Lastly sheep have zero self defence ability, they do not have a mighty kick to wand off predators, they do not have big teeth to bite back, they do not have sharp horns to prod predators, they only have a loud cry, which allows for them to try out to their shepherd (what defences do we actually have against the devil or his attacks?).

I believe the relevance of understanding the concept of a shepherd King is making a bit more sense. If we therefore, sit in the knowledge that we are indeed sheep. When compared to the reality of creation, when compared to the reality of the spiritual realm (the Egyptian priests in Exodus are able to do spells and sorcery via the devil and in 2 Thessalonians the devil is credited to signs, miracles and wonders), when compared to history of the world we really are useless, vulnerable and unable to do anything ourselves. So the question I would like for us to sit on today, is how and where do we walk?

The life we have been gifted by God is a journey, of that there is no doubt. The Bible shows us that the history of humanity is linked towards a progressive relationship or reunion back to closer fellowship God. That in Genesis we see God in communion with one (Adam) to a select few (Enoch, Noah, Abraham etc) to a nation (Israel) and finally to the whole world (thank you Jesus). God being eternal (which means he is never ending, in order to be never ending it implies there is no change) means that He is the same in the beginning as He will be in the end, which means He wants to take us to places, to grow us, to utilise us. We see development and growth throughout the Bible, a shepherd boy turns into a King, a King turns into the wisest person in the history of the world, a carpenters son turns into the saviour of the world, fishermen turning into great apostles spreading the good news. God takes us from glory to glory and builds us up, He does not want to tear us down.
If we then understand that fact we are indeed sheep and Jesus is our Shepherd, how and where we walk tells us a lot about what is happening. Once you understand this concept you then must overcome the biggest barrier, humbling yourself to the position of sheep. This means it is no longer about you, because you recognise that if you walk it out alone there is no hope for you. You only have hope because you have faith in Jesus as your shepherd. As you humble yourself this means letting go of the fact it is about you or that you know what is best. If you knew what was best God would never use the analogy of a shepherd and sheep to explain His relationship with humanity. So you must let go of your self image, your self recognition, your self knowledge, your self capability and fully yield to the Spirit of God. As you let yourself go and let Him reign, you can start to walk with Him.

If you over come this hurdle then what would be some practical tips for you going forward if you want to let Jesus be your shepherd king? It is rather simple, ask Him. Pray to Jesus before you do your life. It is is so simple its rather mind boggling, to have Jesus has your shepherd means He is there to:
1) Protect you
2) Lead you
3) Look after you
4) Make sure you make it to the final destination
If He is there for all of that and ALOT more, why not utilise Him? He already died on the cross for your sins. He already descended to the gates of hades and grabbed the keys of death for you. He defeated the devil and sin and flesh for you. He went through all of that so that He can be your shepherd, He did all of that to pay the ransom price of the life you used to live. My point is, utilise Him. Yield to the fact and the knowledge that God is greater, He is infinite, He is all powerful, He is the creator of everything, He is pure and Holy and nothing is better than God; then you can let His way be your way. The way to do this, live a life in prayer and ask His guidance and direction on everything that you do in your life. When you do this you will see that He leads you to green pastures with still water for your soul to be continually refreshed in the glory of His continual presence.