The church that meets at Rivanna River
“…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water
I give Him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ~Jesus
6009 Buffalo Ridge Road
Earlysville, VA 22936
ph: (434) 964-1186
rivannar
A Cup of Comfort
"Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept." (John 11:33-35, NKJV)
The following excerpt is from Ray Vander Laan’s book, Echoes of HIS Presence (Zondervan, 1998). I strongly encourage you to read his work and seek out his video series, That The World May Know, distributed by Focus on the Family. Links to many of them can be found on our T.G.I.F. page … having done so, you’re perspective on God’s Word will be positively and forever changed! You’ll begin, perhaps for the first time in your life, to satisfy the pangs of spiritual hunger that have gnawed on you for years untold.
The Good Shepherd
"For many years when I read Psalm 23 or the other shepherd images in Scripture, including those used by Jesus himself, I pictured the shepherd driving the sheep into lush, green fields of alfalfa. I was wrong. Shepherds in Israel don’t drive the sheep; they lead them along the narrow paths that still criss-cross the Judean hillsides. ‘This is the way to go,’ the shepherd says to the sheep. ‘Follow me.’
And the green pastures of Israel are not belly-deep alfalfa; they’re sparse tufts of grass springing up in a sometimes unbelievably rocky landscape. From one moment to the next, the sheep depend on the leading of the grazing he provides.
When we understand the shepherd and the land out of which Jesus’ imagery comes, the meaning of His words becomes clearer. ‘I am the good Shepherd. I am out there ahead of you. This is the way to go. This is the way to live. Follow Me.’
We’re not to wait to be driven, to be forced to move along a certain path. Nor are we to wait until we’re lost or stuck in some dangerous place. Rather, we are, through life, to follow the ways laid out by the Shepherd, to follow in His footsteps and the example He has set for us. Straight paths or paths of righteousness—the paths the Shepherd selects—are the only ones that are safe and secure.
‘No matter how difficult, how narrow, or how treacherous the path, I’ve walked it first,’ says Jesus. ‘I always go before My sheep.’
Picturing God’s green pastures as rich Iowa farmland where everything we need for the rest of our lives is close at hand destroys the vibrancy of Christian living. Not one of us knows for sure that we have what it takes to deal with what will happen to us a few days from now—or even a few minutes from now—any more than the sheep have the grass to satisfy the hunger of tomorrow. All we have is what’s sufficient for this moment. With that knowledge, we can relax, relying on the effectiveness of our Shepherd to provide whatever we need in the future.
Thus, it’s incredibly important to keep our eyes on Him, because the green pastures ten minutes from now or tomorrow or next week are only available if we follow Him. Without Him, we’ll starve. We’ll lose our way. We need to learn to live for each moment, trusting and depending on God for whatever lies ahead.
Worry, on the other hand, means trying to deal with tomorrow’s problems in today’s pastures. Living the Christian life is a moment-by-moment event as we seek the provision of God each step of the way.
There’s good reason for this. Like sheep, we can’t distinguish the dangerous cliff from the safe path or the deadly floodwaters of the wadi from the quiet pool. Only the Shepherd can lead us safely away from the water that destroys and toward the refreshing water that gives life.
We are, by nature, emotionally and spiritually hungry and thirsty people. We long to be important, to be fulfilled, to make life meaningful. Those are God-given yearnings. Unfortunately, we often take the wrong way. We seek satisfaction in things that may look hunger-satisfying and thirst-quenching but are, in fact, deadly. Trusting our own senses and desires, we wander into places that can destroy our character, our potential, and even our lives. When we listen to the Shepherd, however, we’re kept from danger.
Although Jesus is always the Shepherd, He allows others to care for His sheep. Thus, we find His leading not only in His Word, but also through the voices of His undershepherds: pastors and teachers, parents and family, and godly friends. Through them, He leads us to the green pastures and quiet waters.
The shepherd isn’t always out in front, leading his sheep, however. As the sun sets on the Judean hills, with their confused tangle of trails, steep cliffs, and deep wadis, it becomes increasingly difficult for the sheep to follow the shepherd and increasingly likely that they may misstep, fall, or get lost. Then, in the lengthening twilight, when the sheep must pass through the darkest shadows in the deepest wadis, the shepherd drops back and walks with them.
When those moments arrive for us—when we lose a beloved parent, spouse, or child; when we face pain or suffering; when we wake in the middle of the night fearing the unknown; or even in the midst of a particularly hard day at work—we, too, need to search out the Shepherd’s presence. We need the immediacy of His comfort, the strengthening sound of His voice, and the protection of His presence.
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
(Psalm 23:4)
Jesus, our Passover Lamb, born among the flocks of Bethlehem and visited by the Bethlehem shepherds, understands well what it means to be a strong, faithful shepherd.
It’s interesting that the Lord chose to announce His Son’s birth to shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem . Do you suppose it was because they, of all people, would understand the importance of listening to and obeying the Shepherd’s voice?
Will you follow His voice wherever He leads?"
6009 Buffalo Ridge Road
Earlysville, VA 22936
ph: (434) 964-1186
rivannar
