The Faith Full Life

Recently, I found myself wondering what shepherds actually do. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 23 famously opens this way.

But as I read it recently, I was prompted to look up the role of a shepherd. So I did, and this is what I found:

A shepherd is responsible for protection, provision, guidance, care, healing, rescue, constant presence, knowing the unique needs and temperament of each sheep, sacrificial care, leading sheep to fresh pastures and clean waters, and leading from the front (not behind like cattle) since the sheep are led by the shepherd’s voice.

Wow! How intentional for God to choose to liken himself to a shepherd of all things. God fulfills this role and illustrates it all throughout Scripture.

For example, in 1 Samuel, God had already chosen David to be Israel’s future king long before he was formally anointed. Yet, David spent his youth as a shepherd in his father’s house. When Samuel came to the home of David’s father, looking to anoint the next king, David was out tending to the flock. David’s role as shepherd included fighting off lions and bears. He mentions the predators turning on him as he defended his flock. Is that not sacrificial care and protection?

³⁴ But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. – 1 Samuel 17:34-35

If David did this for a flock of sheep, being fully human, relying on God … how fiercely must God fight to protect us in all his might? Even so as to lay down His life and die for our salvation. 

For each responsibility I found for the role of a traditional, human shepherd, there is Scripture to support God’s decision to identify this way. Deuteronomy 1:30  covers both protection and God’s promise to go before us.

³⁰ The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. – Deuteronomy 1:30 

Several Scriptures note that God goes before us like a shepherd, though he also follows us; another testament to his care and protection. Can you imagine how much God must truly love us, how deeply concerned he must be with our well being, to the point that he, himself, has opted to walk in front of us AND behind us to keep us safe and on track.

⁵ You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. – Psalm 139:5

So now, if God has chosen to identify Himself as a Shepherd, what does that say about us as sheep? My notes reflect a list that is visibly shorter. God has not left much effort on our part. Really consider that as I share the following findings for the role of sheep.

Recognition. Sheep must learn to recognize the shepherd’s voice, distinguish it from that of a stranger’s, and respond to it for guidance. I correlate this to spending time with God consistently enough to recognize His leading. It means responding to convictions in our spirit that align with Scripture and rejecting natural impulses of the flesh that do not.

I learned that sheep are flock animals who participate in social bonding. I would liken this to fellowship with other believers, attending church, seeking wise counsel, and maintaining godly friendships.

 Sheep are also submissive in the sense that they are totally reliant on the shepherd and yield to his authority and guidance. I view this as surrendering. I mean actually surrendering to the Lord. I’m talking … Jesus headed to the cross, “yet not My will, but Yours be done,” Luke 22:42 level, honest surrender. Even as I type it, I wonder whether that level of surrender is achievable.

²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” – Matthew 19:26

Yet, I know the Holy Spirit is able. As Psalm 23 continues, it reassures that “He makes me lie down in green pastures.”

Now, sheep are commonly considered simple-minded, but the truth is that they have a strong flock mentality. They stick closely to one another within a flock, with each sheep following the one in front of it, head down, grazing and moving along almost blindly … even if it means following that sheep right off a cliff. 

Reading that had me wondering about specific conditions regarding sheep, like what happens when sheep find themselves with no shepherd versus sheep who are faithfully shepherded. What about sheep who have a shepherd, but wander off and find themselves lost? 

I found that sheep without a shepherd are likely to continue grazing in the same patch of grass for too long with no shepherd leading the way to better pastures. This is very unhealthy as the sheep will likely end up ingesting their own feces which causes serious illness. Lost sheep wander aimlessly or follow each other … likely into danger zones without a leader. And sheep are considered prey animals since they lack natural defenses and are highly vulnerable to predators.

Without the Lord as our Shepherd, we become vulnerable to spiritual warfare, to principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places as described in Ephesians 6:12.

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¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. – Ephesians 6:12

Sheep who are led by a shepherd are at peace. They are described as being calm, orderly, and highly productive because they rely on their trusted leader to make decisions and guide them.

I read that shepherds lead their flock to the highest quality pastures and water sources. This immediately caused me to recall Psalm 32:8, which promises “The LORD says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’” How “shepherdy” is that, right!? 

Then I considered the lost sheep. Sheep who have accepted a shepherd, but wandered away from him and the flock. I was led to Luke 15:4-7 and I rejoiced in my heart! This is the Scripture that tells the parable of the lost sheep, which states that if a man has a hundred sheep and just ONE of them wanders off, he would leave the ninety-nine others to find that lost one. My God! How reassuring is it to know that God cares for us this deeply, that even if we wander off track, he will make it his mission to draw us back in.

Then I considered the fact that I, myself, have been feeling pretty aimless lately. I even used that word in my private thoughts … thinking that I felt exactly that. “Aimless” in this season of my life. And I had to ask myself … have I been operating as though I do not have a shepherd? Have I been operating without a shepherd? Have I been shepherding myself!?

As I reflected on my own life, I began asking what it looks like when a believer starts operating apart from the Shepherd’s guidance. I had to be honest with myself. I had to review my most recent patterns, behaviors, and decisions. Then I had to confess. I have been:

• reacting to life instead of living with intention and leaning not on my own understanding
• chasing comfort, distraction, and instant gratification
• making decisions based on emotion, urgency, and lack of patience rather than praying and waiting for wisdom

These are things I plan to take to God in prayer, as I would suggest for anyone gleaning spiritual insight from anywhere outside of the Bible or directly from the Holy Spirit. Even the things I am sharing here, I would encourage you to use as food for thought, and take it to the Lord in prayer to see what he might have to say about it.

My hope is that understanding God’s role as the Shepherd in our lives might help us lean more effectively into our role as sheep by surrendering our own desires, decisions, and discernment to Him. 

One final point about sheep. I read that they have no natural, internal GPS, unlike pigeons, salmon, and cats who are all able to find their way home based on scent trails or geomagnetism. Once a sheep is lost, it remains lost unless a shepherd finds it. 

And with that, I realize that sheep were never designed to shepherd themselves. Sheep were created to follow a shepherd, and believers were created to follow Christ. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.