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We Are His People and the Sheep of His Pasture
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Betty Seiley
Oct 19, 2005
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100
David said, "Worship the Lord with gladness." He wasn't waiting for all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together, nor was he waiting for his life to be the picture of perfection when he wrote and sang these words. He was out in the field tending his father's sheep, performing a tedious, difficult task, not sought after by many. Being the youngest son of his father, he was probably given the job by his brothers who had no desire to tend sheep in the fields.
David experienced, as a shepherd boy, the glories of our Heavenly Father. He was glorifying the Lord in the hot outdoors, with few shade trees under which to take any rest. Even though David was thirsty and tired, he exalted the Lord and sang unto Him. In this hard place, David's heart was still able to see the goodness of the Lord, and the Lord taught David that the Lord's people are His flocks of sheep. "We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." The Lord is our Shepherd, we have no reason to want. He makes us lie down in green pastures to rest and leads us beside still waters. He restores our souls.
Earlier in Psalm 1, David talked about how the Lord plants us as trees beside the rivers of water, where we bring forth our fruit in our season, and blesses us. This happens as we walk in the counsel of the godly, as we do not run with sinners in their sin, nor do we sit in the seat of the scornful. Psalm 1:1 This happens as we keep the Word of the Lord in the forefront of our thoughts. verse 2 When faced with situations in everyday life, possibly at the job, or in our family lives, we stop and think, "What does the Word of the Lord say about this? What would Jesus do in this situation?" The only way to know what Jesus would do is to know Him through fellowship in His Word, prayer, and worship.
God wants us to be like trees, even oaks of righteousness, planted by the rivers of waters. Water is a symbol of His Word, and, as we drink the water of His Word, our roots go down deep into the soil, so that we will not be moved by winds, other than the wind of the Holy Spirit. We eat and drink His Word, which makes us strong in Him. The Word of God is also referred to as living bread.
This kind of abiding doesn't come all at once the moment we are saved. The potential for it is within us through the Holy Spirit, but we are born again as babes in Christ, according to the apostle Paul, and we grow up into Christ. As we allow Him to plant us by the waters of His Word, and, as we eat His Word, our necessary bread, we will grow into those oaks of righteousness.
People grow at different paces. Some Christians who have been saved only six months, sometimes have the maturity of a Christian who has been born again for twenty-five years or more. The growth rate in Christ depends on the hunger and thirst level. The more of the Bread of Life we eat and Water of Life we drink, the stronger we become. The Lord gives us milk and honey from His Word, and as we grow in maturity, the time for meat comes, T-bone steak, even, :) according to the writer of Hebrews. (Hebrews 5:12-14)
The Lord builds and He tears down, He plants, and He plucks up. If we stop to think about it, that is exactly what we do in our daily activities. An old, sagging building has to be torn down, and another, newer, stronger structure must be built so that life continues in a more suitable fashion. Harvested stalks of corn have to be plowed under so that a new and better crop can be planted to bring forth more grain.
In the same manner, sometimes, we feel like we're being torn down and plucked up by God, but it is only so that He can strengthen our fellowship with Him, while He is making us a holy habitation made up of living stones. He plucks us up only to move our roots deeper and closer to the water source. The feelings that we have when the Lord is doing these things in us, are usually far from joyful, but, in our innermost being, we know that He is God, and we are the sheep of His pasture. We put our faith fully in His wisdom and care, and we continue to worship and praise Him continually in the process.
The Shepherd always knows what is best for His sheep, and He will do whatever is necessary for them to thrive under His care. How would it reflect on the Shepherd, if His sheep were left to their own devices and never tended? Our Father would never leave us alone like that, and, I, for one, am glad. He has made us glad!
In His abiding love,
Betty Seiley
Redeemer Revival Ministries
www.revivalwaters.net
www.arisemylove.multiply.com
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