By: Dr. Steven K. Parker
Reflection on the week:
Have you ever experienced the LORD’s protective care? In what way?
Have you ever experienced the LORD’s loving correction? Describe that experience.
Approaching God’s word: Spend a few moments in silent prayer and meditation, asking God to reveal Himself to you as your guiding Good Shepherd.
Reading the text: If you missed this week’s message, you can access it here. Spend some time today meditating on the beautiful words of this prayerful song. Focus on the words, “your rod and your staff, they comfort me” as you read.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. (Psalm 23)
Reflection on the passage:
What purposes would a shepherd’s rod and staff serve?
How does the Good Shepherd work in our lives like that?
Pastoral Thoughts: The steep, slippery path the shepherd at times leads the sheep down spells doom for the sheep if they get too close to the edge, so they hug close to the cliff. But along the cliff are these deep nooks and crannies where a hungry predator could be waiting to jump out and grab one. This image of “the valley of the shadow of death” is one with danger on the right and peril on the left as the sheep follow the shepherd. The sheep are left to trust in the shepherd’s protective correction. If the sheep get too close to the cliff’s edge and begin to slip, the shepherd can use his staff to hook them quickly and pull them back to safety. The falling sheep could take comfort in that staff of correction. If a hungry critter hops out of a cave to try and make a snack out of one of the lambs, the shepherd can use the rod that’s something like a baseball bat to convince the predator that mutton is not on the menu. The sheep could take comfort in the shepherd’s protective rod and corrective staff.
We need that type of protection. Life is scary. We’re living in the midst of a pandemic, through a season of polarizing political rhetoric with a large helping of racial discord and economic uncertainty sprinkled into the mix. Will we get sick and if we do, will we be like so many who have mild symptoms and get better or like those other cases where the spiral is quick and deadly? Will we lose more loved ones to this virus? Will we still have a job next month? What’s our nation going to look like in the coming years in the wake of all this mess? When we think of the dangerous threats that lurk all around our families, fear and anxiety can become an oppressive force. Sometimes we are called to follow the LORD down paths that seem pretty unsure. Even through those times, we can follow the Good Shepherd, trusting that He knows where we need to go, travels before us, and really will protect us along the way. Hardships will come, enemies will attack, struggles might even wound us, but we really can take comfort in the rod and staff of the Good Shepherd. The LORD’s protection is a great source of security as we walk by faith and not by sight. Reflect upon times when you have experienced the Good Shepherd’s protective deliverance; praise God for working like that in your story!
We also need God’s correction. Like sheep that stray a little too close to the cliff’s edge, we at times begin to lose our footing. As we walk through Death Valley, sometimes we begin to slip. The ground beneath us gives way and we fall. Like Peter who walked on the water toward the Lord but got distracted by the winds and began to sink, we at times take our eyes off the Good Shepherd and begin to feel the waves overtaking us. Peter cried out to Jesus and the Good Shepherd pulled Him up and walked with him across the waves and back to the boat. We too can cry out to the LORD and feel the Good Shepherd’s staff stop our slide and pull us back to safety. Sometimes a song touches our heart and through the act of worship, God directs us away from the edge and back to solid ground. Sometimes through the scriptures, the Good Shepherd grabs us with His crook and pulls us back to safety. Sometimes a sermon stomps on our toes and causes us to move our feet away from the cliff’s edge. Sometimes, in a quiet moment of restful prayer or through some unforeseen circumstance, the Lord either whispers in our ear or slaps us upside the head and steers us away from a long fall. Sometimes a door that seems promising slams in our face and we are so disappointed until we realize that God’s protective correction is at work in our lives, keeping us from heading down a path that would separate us from His plan. Other times the loving, truthful words of a trusted friend are used by the Spirit to jerk us back to our senses and set us back on the right path. Think about times in your own life when the Good Shepherd has worked to offer a loving corrective when you wandered off the narrow road. Praise Him for that!
Going through this difficult season, it’s comforting to know that the Good Shepherd is still there protecting and correcting His sheep, guiding us in the right path. As we turn to God in regular prayer, study, fellowship, worship, and devotional time like this, we can picture Jesus walking before us with a rod of protection and a staff of correction and declare in praise with the Psalmist: “Your rod and Your staff they comfort me!”
Further Reflection:
Share a testimony of how God has worked in your story with protective correction.
Spend a few moments in prayer, praising God for His loving work as our Good Shepherd.
Praying together:
Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd in green pastures and beside still waters. You are still the Good Shepherd in Death Valley. Your rod and staff don’t always feel good when you use them to deliver us from things that might hurt us or separate us from your perfect plan. Yet, we are grateful for your work in our story always. May your kingdom come, and your will be done in our story always. Amen.
Looking ahead: We hope you’ll join us for worship on Sunday as we continue this study on the 23rd Psalm titled: Following the Good Shepherd in Tumultuous Times. This Sunday we will be having the first of four consecutive in-person parking lot revival services. Each of these services will also be broadcast live online. This week we will also be celebrating communion together, reflecting on the way our Good Shepherd causes our cup to overflow. If you’re worshiping with us in-person for our parking lot service, we will have Lord’s Supper elements available to share. If you’re worshiping at home through our online platform, we encourage you to prepare beforehand with your own bread and cup (no need to make a special trip to the store, just use elements you have around your house like crackers or bread and juice or soda). More than the physical preparation of the elements, whether we’re worshiping online or in-person, let us all prepare our hearts to commune with God and one another through this important expression of our worship and fellowship.