Wednesday November 5, 2025 - Good Shepherd

 Chapter 23: Good Shepherd Day 4

Praying the Name:

Psalm 23 - The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

John 10:27-29 - My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

Father, 

    I praise You Father for watching over me, for keeping me safe and for making sure that I have food and drink and heat from the stove. I thank You for making it one day closer to the rapture. 

    I thank You for our pastor and ask that You be with her always. I thank You that she is writing in her busyness and not totally giving up on me. I thank You for Gaylen and Frank who have cared and loved me as a family member. I thank You for what they poured into me over the years. I am sorry I disappointed them so much. 

    I for sure need a Shepherd to watch over me, I am not a good person inside, I need You to hold onto me and keep me walking in the light of You. Please keep bipolar medication working. 

    I ask that You encourage and strengthen my pastor, that You stand with her right now and give her the strength and knowledge for the retreat and bless her for having one for the ladies too. I thank You for her so much. 

    Thank You Father for always hearing us and loving us more. 

In Jesus Name, 

    Amen 

    It happened last Sunday, I was sitting in church at the start of the sermon sinking fast, feeling overwhelmed by life and thinking thoughts I should not have. "God why will You not help me?" -  "Can You not hear me?" -  "Am I such a rat?" {an inner voice quickly assured me I was} - then "Please help me I am desperate I need You" That is how inelegant and faithless my prayers can be. 

    It had been a trying weekend, topping off a difficult week, of a difficult month.  Circumstances relating to one of my children had conspired to make me feel like a cat that was constantly being stroked backwards, a slow and steady torture, but then came the answer, it was almost a physical sensation I could feel myself rising up leaving despair behind. Grace was reaching me through the words of the sermon, 

    The reading from that day was from Paul's letter to the Philippians, 

Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

    A quote from Martin Luther, 'Temptations of course cannot be avoided, but because we cannot prevent the birds from flying over our heads, there is no need that we have to let them nest in our hair. 

    The sermon was wise, and it went straight to the heart of what was bothering me, the faithless, doubting, complaining thoughts that were flying around my head like sparrows looking for a place to nest, But it was more than that it was the way the words were delivered, with the love of Christ as though Jesus was speaking directly to me through my pastor which of course He was. 

    I could not help but reflect on how right this seemed because the word pastor is another word for herdsman or shepherd, Pastor was the title given to leaders in the early church who were called to be shepherds after the example of the Good Shepherd, certainly my pastor had done that for me that day. I had heard Christ's voice speaking through him. 

    Later I reflected on Psalm 23, which talks about fearing no evil about being comforted by the fact that the Shepherd stands near with His rod and His staff at hand. The rod the Psalmist speaks of is a club that the shepherds used to ward off attacks from wild animals, as I thought back about my experience in church that day, I pictured Jesus standing next to me. club in hand, beating down all the faithless thoughts that tempted and discouraged me. 

    I thought too of another image one that made me smile, it is an arcade game that you use a big hammer to pound down plastic gophers that pop up willynilly it is a great stress reliever. 

    What is causing You stress right now?  What temptations are you facing? As you pray today imagine yourself in the presence of Jesus your Good Shepherd, who stands ready with His club in hand able to ward off the enemy and keep you safe.