First person: In the position of sheep

In my first article I shared that I had let the circumstances of my life begin to control my next steps, and I needed restoration. In the 23rd Psalm, I found hope and restoration with God once again. I did not lose my salvation, just His immediate presence in the day to day events in my life. I cried out to Him, and He restored me with His presence.

David penned these words dealing with the shepherd and his sheep. Every verse of this chapter compares the care of the shepherd to the way God cares for us. Often when we get past verse 2, we disassociate each statement from the comparison of the shepherd’s care of sheep and our heavenly Father’s care of us. When we do, we lose the proper understanding of this Psalm.

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The entire Bible uses the illustration of God as shepherd and His people as His sheep, according to some sources, more than 500 times.

The entire 34th chapter of Ezekiel deals with the leaders of Israel as God’s shepherds and ends in v. 31 with God saying, “You are my flock, the human flock of my pasture, and I am your God.”  Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all went astray like sheep.” Jesus referred to Himself as the “Good Shepherd” in John 10:11. Over and over the reference to sheep and God as our shepherd is found in the Bible.

Sheep needed restoration from time to time, and David said “He restores my soul.” I am told that sheep can fall down and be on their back and then not be able to get back up again. This is called “being cast down.” They can only flail around, bleating, not able to right themselves until the shepherd comes and “restores” them to an upright position. If left on their own, they will be open to attack from predators or even death. That’s where the shepherd comes into play. He will straddle them trying to control the flailing hooves then bend down and slowly restore them to an upright position holding on to them until they are steady on their feet. Then the sheep run off as if nothing had happened.

I found myself in the position of sheep; I needed to be restored and placed back on the right path. I was “cast down.” In Psalm 42:11 and Psalm 43:5 (ESV) both ask the question, “why are you cast down?”  I had lost hope and I needed real restoration.

In fact, there have been many times in my life when I needed restoration, and God was always there for me. When I turned back to God, asked Him to forgive me for my lack of faith and surrendered my present situation into His hands for His will to be done, He brought restoration. I needed to get back to living by faith every moment of the day. When I acknowledged that He was in fact there, I began to experience His presence again and it was wonderful.

‘Always there’

He is always here; He never leaves us but He is waiting for us to acknowledge Him every day. He promises to show up and walk with us through whatever comes our way. In Joshua 1:9, God said the following to Joshua when he took over from Moses: “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Psalm 145:18–19 says, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.”

In John 14:16–17, Jesus promises, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

So my friend do not despair, God is nearer than you think. He is and always has been in the “Restoration” business. We need to be restored over and over as we foolishly go our own way. Just reach out and call on Him, and He will answer you.