These are 2 readings on Psalm 23, “The Lord is our Shepherd,“ to encourage one another.

Sheep aren’t smart they tend to wander into running creeks for water then their wool grows heavy and they drown. They need a shepherd to lead them to calm water! They have no natural defence, no claws no horns, no fangs. Sheep need a shepherd with a “rod” to protect them. They have no sense of direction. They need someone to lead “them on paths that are right”; so do we, we need a Shepherd to care for us and to guide us, and we have one. One who knows us by name.

This next one is from a different place but follows on perfectly. It’s headed “The Lord knows you by name.”

“Shepherds in the Middle East name their sheep. While an occasional lamb might be killed for a festive occasion, sheep are kept primarily for their wool. Shepherds develop a close and long-term relationship with the sheep under their care.

A man visiting the Middle East could not believe that sheep actually knew their own names. So he challenged a shepherd he met to call one or two of his sheep. The shepherd obliged and called out “Neriah”. One of the sheep grazing nearby stopped eating and looked up. When the Shepherd called “Come here,“ the sheep came immediately. He called another and another and each did just as the first. “But how can you tell them all apart?” The visitor asked. “To me one looks just like the next.” The shepherd said “Oh no two are alike. Look closely. That sheep has lost a little bit of wool. That one is a little cross-eyed, this one is a little bow legged. That one has a black spot on its nose.“ The visitor noted that the shepherd knew each of his sheep by their faults and failings! He didn’t have a perfect sheep in his flock. Nevertheless he cared for them and loved them equally.

How comforting to know that our Heavenly Father sees us as we are and still loves us and cares for us. He knows each of us inside and out. He delights in our uniqueness, including those qualities that still are being perfected! We are not “just another person with a need or a fault” to Him. We are His dear children, whom He is helping in every way He can, to grow up and be like Jesus.

In all that we need and all that we lack, may we turn to Him.
For all that He gives and all that He calls us to do, may we Thank Him.
With all that we are, and with all that we have may we Praise Him.

John 10:3-4 “The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.” So receive the tender love and care God has for you today.

Author: Jasmine Ingrouille - February 2021