REFLECTIONS

Our Shepherd

Those many days alone in the pasture watching over the sheep shaped his life. No one was with him, only God. He had no one to talk to, only God. There was no one to protect him during those long days, only God.

Time alone offered plenty of time for David to sharpen his slingshot skills. Hour after hour he practiced slinging rocks at make-shift bullseyes. He had time to discover that accuracy was more crucial than power; and that the small smooth rocks were easier to control when accuracy was the premium. So when lions appeared, their catlike moves were no match for young David’s skill with a sling and a stone. Or when powerful bears reared to crush their prey, his precision brought them down. And when faced with the haughty challenge of a well-armed giant of a man, David stood fearlessly before him. The Lord was his shepherd. He feared no evil.

Those lonely days in the pasture prepared young David for the battles to be fought in the years ahead. But David found time for the softer side of life too. A harp became his companion. Perhaps someone back home taught him to play, but time alone in the field allowed ample opportunity to practice. Besides the music calmed the flock when they became restless.

And with no one else to talk to, David wrote his prayers to God. Poetic words became second nature as he pursued God’s own heart. They were beautiful, heartfelt, and enduring—Psalm 23 perhaps the most familiar. But even those precious moments with God did not reveal the mysteries of life awaiting him. They prepared him for them.

God uses special times to be alone with those who love him. Just as those times alone with David, God found Moses alone in a shepherds’ field and called him into service there. In the quiet of night, God wrestled Jacob to gain his attention; and in the solitude of the desert, he prepared Paul to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

David became a great warrior and king. He faced the wrath of angry kings, rejection of an angry wife, and suffered the pain of losing two of his children. But those private times with God built a foundation that would sustain him throughout his life. In the face of it all, David knew where to turn. The Lord was his shepherd.

The mysteries awaiting you and me make our travels through this world an exciting adventure. God uses those quiet times alone with us to shape our lives for the journey just as he shaped David’s. The Lord is our Shepherd.

And the Shepherd prepares us for the journey.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

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