Read Psalm 95
Featured Verse: Psalm 95:6-7
“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…”
Sheep. Not the brightest animal on the planet. In fact, some would call them downright dumb. They are defenseless, too. They have nothing within themselves to fight off their enemies. And not only are they dumb and defenseless, but precisely because they are dumb and defenseless, they are totally dependent on the goodness of the shepherd.
Sheep. That’s what we are. And from the description above, perhaps that is exactly why the writers of Scripture chose this particular animal from among all the animals on the planet to describe the people of God. Not bright enough, not strong enough, not sufficient enough to survive apart from the goodness of the Shepherd.
Yes, we are the flock under his care. And that is a good thing, because the care of our Good Shepherd has always been sufficient. There has never been a time when the Shepherd has not led us to green pastures or kept us on the safe path or stood guard over us through the night watch or preserved us from the attack of the enemy or brought us through the valley of the shadow of death. In fact, the Shepherd is so good that he even laid down his life to provide eternal life for dumb, defenseless and dependent sheep like us. There has never been a time when the Good Shepherd has not been more than sufficient for us, nor will there ever be.
So then, given the track record of the Shepherd’s goodness, why would we ever harden our hearts to the Good Shepherd’s voice? It doesn’t make sense, does it? And yet that is precisely what we do when we wander off on our own or want things that aren’t good for sheep or worry over stuff that the Shepherd has under his control (which is everything, by the way). I hate to admit it, but sometimes I am just a dumb sheep—and I have a feeling that you are, too.
But today is a new day, and you have a fresh reminder of the goodness and sufficiency of the Good Shepherd. So listen to his voice and follow his command, for he will lead you to that place where sheep do best.
Where is that? I don’t know—I am just a sheep, too. But the Shepherd knows, so just listen and follow.
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