My Shepherd
The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
Today, it's snowing in Ellijay. Again. My office is closed. Again. My schedule is interrupted. The roads are almost impassable. The house is growing smaller. This is not what I planned for the week.
Today, I had renewed occasion to acknowledge that I'm not completely in charge of my life. And, based on my past experience, it is reasonable to anticipate that there will be circumstances, events, and encounters tomorrow over which I will have little or no control. I am sure to learn afresh, every day, just how many areas of my life are beyond my control; just how little power I actually have in many of the affairs of my life.
That assessment is no excuse for irresponsibility nor for dispair; it is not a resort to philosophical fatalism. It is acutally a tremendous source of confidence and peace.
Simply put, I am not in charge. I'm not the boss of me.
But I know One Who Is.
I am in a relationship with One who is my Shepherd. That means that He has assumed full responsibility for me. He is my guide, my protector, and my provider. He is my comforter, my peace, and my joy. He plots my course each day; He is responsible for who can and who cannot impact my life, the dangers I face, the energy and strength I'll need, and whatever resources I might require.
Notice that I did not say that He is my Redeemer (He is), my Savior (there is no other), my God (and yours as well) or my Judge (and He is that as well). These and many similar titles speak of offices and authority belonging to God. They make plain for us many important and eternal things that we need to know about Him. But here, today, in my current circumstances, I want to know Him now in my daily experience.
And that's my point. Much, perhaps most, of what many people know about God is only what we know _about_ God. It may be sound and orthodox; it may be Biblically correct and Scripturally based; it may be the subject of countless sermons and commentaries, and it may provide some hope and confidence about eternity - but it is knowledge about Him.
I invite you to join me in moving from knowing about Him to knowing Him.
It's wonderful to know that there is a God in Heaven. It's better to know that God is involved in the intricate details of my life, here in the snow and the office closures and the hours and minutes of my day.
He is my Shepherd. Let Him be your Shepherd, too.
(Michael G. Parham. Previously Published at fetchyournews.com)
Today, it's snowing in Ellijay. Again. My office is closed. Again. My schedule is interrupted. The roads are almost impassable. The house is growing smaller. This is not what I planned for the week.
Today, I had renewed occasion to acknowledge that I'm not completely in charge of my life. And, based on my past experience, it is reasonable to anticipate that there will be circumstances, events, and encounters tomorrow over which I will have little or no control. I am sure to learn afresh, every day, just how many areas of my life are beyond my control; just how little power I actually have in many of the affairs of my life.
That assessment is no excuse for irresponsibility nor for dispair; it is not a resort to philosophical fatalism. It is acutally a tremendous source of confidence and peace.
Simply put, I am not in charge. I'm not the boss of me.
But I know One Who Is.
I am in a relationship with One who is my Shepherd. That means that He has assumed full responsibility for me. He is my guide, my protector, and my provider. He is my comforter, my peace, and my joy. He plots my course each day; He is responsible for who can and who cannot impact my life, the dangers I face, the energy and strength I'll need, and whatever resources I might require.
Notice that I did not say that He is my Redeemer (He is), my Savior (there is no other), my God (and yours as well) or my Judge (and He is that as well). These and many similar titles speak of offices and authority belonging to God. They make plain for us many important and eternal things that we need to know about Him. But here, today, in my current circumstances, I want to know Him now in my daily experience.
And that's my point. Much, perhaps most, of what many people know about God is only what we know _about_ God. It may be sound and orthodox; it may be Biblically correct and Scripturally based; it may be the subject of countless sermons and commentaries, and it may provide some hope and confidence about eternity - but it is knowledge about Him.
I invite you to join me in moving from knowing about Him to knowing Him.
It's wonderful to know that there is a God in Heaven. It's better to know that God is involved in the intricate details of my life, here in the snow and the office closures and the hours and minutes of my day.
He is my Shepherd. Let Him be your Shepherd, too.
(Michael G. Parham. Previously Published at fetchyournews.com)
posted by mp at 4:15 PM
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