Where is God Taking Me? Part 1

Psalm 23:1-The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.  Oh, yeah, then where is my Shepherd taking me?  Why does the path that I am on not seem to be headed in the right direction?  These are good and valid questions.  However, to get an answer to those, you have first got to answer this question.  Is God my Shepherd?  Most of us are quick to say 'Yes.'  Jesus said in John 10:27--My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  If we are His sheep, then His sheep know His voice.  Have you heard God say something to you today, or even lately?  Now don't go rattling off all of the things that you do in church or the fancy-schmancy position you might have.  Take a moment to read Phil 3:3-8.  Paul rattles off all of the things that USED to be important to him when he was a CHURCH MEMBER.  But verse eight says--Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:   In verses three thru seven, Paul relates all the THINGS that made him feel important in the church.  And, we do the same thing.  We put positions ahead of an up to date relationship with Jesus Christ.  Listen carefully.  IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO HEAR THE SHEPHERD'S VOICE THAN IT IS TO HAVE ANY POSITION IN ANY CHURCH. 

Oh, yeah?  Well, the path I am on right now doesn't make any sense.  Further down it talks about walking through the valley of the shadow of death.  I will deal with that on my next blog.  Right now, let's look at verse three--He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.  Let's also look at Jer.29:11--For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  Isaiah 55:9--For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. The Hebrew word "thoughts" also means "plans."  So, Jer 29:11 tells us that God has plans to do us good.  Isa 55:9 says that His plans are greater than ours. 

Let's notice Psalm 23:3 again but with a different emphasis.  He leads me in paths of RIGHTEOUSNESS.  The Hebrew word righteous means --that which is right.  Even though we do not understand why we go through some things, we need to trust our Shepherd that this is the "right" place to be at the "right" time.  Also notice the next portion of verse three--for HIS name's sake.  If you are His sheep and you are following hard after Him, you have to trust that He has you right where you are right now for His purpose and not necessarily yours.  Listen, His faith in you is why you are "right here, right now."  Look around.  Someone walking with you needs help.  Someone around you needs an answer that maybe only you can give.  Someone watching you needs an example to follow.  Are you going to accept God's will and march through the situation bravely until He brings you out?  Or, are you going to wimp out by griping and complaining?  Does that soul that was searching for an answer and looking to you as an example of a Christian give up on Jesus or give in to Him?  Have we acted like His sheep or like one of Satan's goats?  We're all going to stand before Jesus one day.  After He opens the book of Life to find our name, He's going to open up the book of works.  Enough said.

Let's look at the lives of some of our heroes of faith.  Joseph. the favorite son of Jacob did not deserve to be sold as a slave and taken away from his family.  When he served Potiphar as a Godly man should, he did not deserve to be lied about and thrown into prison.  In everything that happened to Joseph, he firmly believed what he told his brothers in Gen 50:20--But as for you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive. Here again, the words "thought" and "meant" are the Hebrew word for "plan."  Sometimes, people PLAN junk against us and we wonder why God let bad stuff happen to good people.  That's because He has the ULTIMATE plan in mind for us.  If we can just stay close enough to hear his voice to know that we are on the right track, God will take what's happening to us and "work" it out for our good, Rom 8:28. 

Now, who said that?  Paul did.  In 2 Cor 23-30, he lists all the things that God brought him through for the cause of the gospel.  He never, never, never deserved the things that he went through.  But he had an up to date experience with Jesus Christ and knew that he was right where God wanted him and doing exactly what God wanted him to do.  Remember, no one outside of Jesus Christ has done more to spread the gospel and reach the lost than the apostle Paul.  Through the letters God had him write, people are still getting saved and churches are being built.  He heard from the Shepherd and that's what it is all about.  If this has helped you, pass it on.  Someone else you know needs it, too.