The Lord Is My Shepherd

Posted On March 12, 2023

“Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.”

Numbers 10:12 NIV

Do you ever feel like you’re stuck wandering in the wilderness? I do. If God has a plan for our lives, and He has promises He wants to fulfill, then why does He let us linger here?

Maybe it’s because He has some lessons He wants us to learn.

Our plan for 2023 is to journey through The NeverEnding Story of the Bible and discover how we fit into it along the way. Our plan for this year is loosely based on The Story, an abridged chronological version of the Bible, and the accompanying study guide The Heart of the Story by Randy Frazee.

Here is where we are in The Story:

MOVEMENT TWO: The Story of Israel (Genesis 12-Malachi)

Chapter 6 – Wandering

This chapter in The Story includes Numbers 10-14, 20-21, 25, 27 and Deuteronomy 1-2, 4, 6, 8-9, 29-32, 34. Israel has finally made it to the Promised Land, and God has commanded them to take it. But the overwhelmed Israelites, afraid to fight the “giants” that currently live there, refuse to obey. They even talk about killing Moses and Aaron, choosing a new leader, and returning to Egypt.

God has had enough! When they begged to be free, He rescued them from slavery. When they complained about being thirsty, He gave them water. When they worried about being hungry, He rained down food from heaven. When they whined about not having any meat, He gave them more than they could eat. Through provision after provision, and miracle after miracle, God showed them He could be trusted. He even appeared to them in the form of a cloud so that they always knew He was with them. How much more proof did they need that God would take care of them?

God has fulfilled His promise to lead the Israelites to “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8 NIV). But when they get there, they refuse to go in and claim it! Ultimately, once again God gives them what they want. They will not enter the Promised Land. God will wait 40 years for the next generation to take the land. This generation will wander in the desert until they die.

“Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.  As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.  But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness.”

Numbers 14:30-32 NIV

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NIV

The Israelites have chosen their path, and now they will have to walk in it. If they thought they could somehow change God’s plan for them, they were wrong. God will not give up on His promises to them. He will still lead them and provide for them, and He will let their children enter the Promised Land. By refusing to obey, all they’ve done is made it harder on themselves. They have missed out on blessings that could have been theirs.

“In Hebrew, [the book of Numbers] is called In the Wilderness. . . . This book continues with the story of the family we’ve been following for 2,700 years, since Adam on Day 1. . . . Think of all they’ve been through since God first promised Abraham that He would increase his offspring. Finally, here they are, likely numbering into the millions. This is evidence of God fulfilling His promises. We’ve seen so much sin in their story line, but they can’t manipulate their way out of His plan, fear their way out of His plan, murder their way out of His plan, or in any way escape God’s good plan for their good and His glory. They’re in it — this is the plan.“

Tara-Leigh Cobble, The Bible Recap

This is the plan. They will wander in the wilderness for the rest of their lives. So what now?

Now, they learn trust and obedience. This generation must learn from their mistakes and prepare the next generation to do better. The wilderness has become their training ground. And God begins teaching them to follow Him wholeheartedly.

“Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” 

Deuteronomy 6:3-5 NIV

“God has told us his name. (How he must long to be close to us.) Moses was the first to learn it. Seven centuries prior to David, the eighty-year-old shepherd was tending sheep when the bush began to blaze and his life began to change.”

Max Lucado, Traveling Light

It’s so easy for me to look at the Israelites and cry out, What were you thinking? Why didn’t you just trust God to begin with? But, I’m no better. When I’ve been called to face my own giants and step out in faith, I’ve had a hard time trusting God, too. I’ve questioned Him, doubted Him, and at times refused to obey Him. I’ve cried out, God, what are You thinking? I can’t possibly do this! Well, that’s exactly what the Israelites said, too. And look where it got them.

When we refuse to obey God, we aren’t changing His plan for us. We’re just delaying it and making it much harder on ourselves. We miss out on blessings which could have been ours, and we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness. But the good news is that God will not give up on us or on His promises to us. He will teach us to do better. He will help us learn to seek Him above all else, to trust Him with every aspect of our lives, and to love Him with all that we are. He will teach us to follow Him in faith so that He can lead us the blessings He has in store.

“Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.”

Psalm 146:5 NIV

So, what’s the first lesson? We are NOT in charge. We don’t want to be in charge, because if we were, then all our fears about our inadequacies would absolutely be true. After they realized their mistake in not trusting God, the Israelites tried to take the land themselves, without God’s support. And they failed. (See Numbers 14:40-45.) We cannot face the giants in our own strength. If we try, we will not succeed. We have to learn to trust and obey God. That’s the only way we will be able to claim the blessings He has for us.

The second lesson? When we’re wandering in the wilderness, we have to learn to travel light. We have to let go of our fears, our doubts, and our self-reliance. We must let go of anything else we are depending on to bring us comfort, peace, or happiness, and we must trust in God alone. We must come before Him each day and humbly ask for everything we need. Like a loving shepherd caring for defenseless sheep, the Lord will provide for us. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Moses was tending sheep when God called him. I believe God chose a shepherd to lead His people, because He was trying to teach them something about Himself and about us. The Lord is our Shepherd, and we are His sheep.

“If we let him, God will lighten our loads . . . but how do we let him?
May I invite an old friend to show us? The Twenty-third Psalm.”

Max Lucado, Traveling Light

“The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.”

Psalm 23 NKJV

This week’s Scripture passages remind us that God is in charge and He will provide. We can trust Him, so let’s not be afraid to travel light. With the Lord as our Shepherd, we have nothing to fear as He leads us through the wilderness in paths of righteousness. He is with us. He will comfort us. And He will show us kindness and mercy all the days of our lives.

The community choir I am a member of is rehearsing John Rutter’s Requiem in preparation for an upcoming concert. One of the songs is titled “The Lord Is My Shepherd” and is based on Psalm 23. All of the music is absolutely beautiful, but this one is our conductor’s favorite, and with good reason.

After viewing many YouTube videos of it, I finally decided on a professional recording to share with you so that you can experience it the way it’s meant to be heard. There is no video with this recording, other than a picture of the album cover, so close your eyes and let the words of Psalm 23 fill your soul and lighten your load . . .

“I pray that the Lord will bless and protect you,
and that he will show you mercy and kindness.
May the Lord be good to you and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26 CEV

References:

• Cobble, Tara-Leigh. The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible. Bethany House, 2020.
• Frazee, Randy.  The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
• Lucado, Max. Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear. W Publishing Group, 2001.
• “Rutter: The Lord Is My Shepherd.” YouTube, uploaded by John Rutter – Topic, 15 September 2018, https://youtu.be/COiQRI4dUjE.
• The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.

Images:

• Good Shepherd featured image from wallbrethrenchurch.net
• Wilderness image by Carlos / Saigon – Vietnam from Pixabay (edited)
• Desert Sun image by Enrique from Pixabay
• Sheep image by Ben from Pixabay
• Green Pasture image by Brin Weins from Pixabay (edited)
• Desert Sunset image by Enrique from Pixabay