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Our Great Shepherd: Dwelling Place

Psalm 23 is one of the most recognizable passages of Scripture. Its words have been sung, prayed, and illustrated in countless ways, but if we’re not careful we can become so well acquainted with these verses that we forget the power these words hold. To recognize God as our Shepherd means we also have to accept that we are indeed like sheep: dirty, defenseless and helpless. Without a shepherd, the sheep are left to their own devices, which ultimately will lead them to starve, wander off, or be attacked. This week, let’s slow it down, remind ourselves that we are sheep in need of a loving Shepherd.

 

Dwelling Place

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6

FridayI’ve lived in a lot of places in the past couple of years, and I’ve found a way to call them all “home.” I like to credit it to the fact that I’m a laid-back, easily adaptable kind of person, but in reality my ability to call so many places “home” and mean it was rooted in the people around me. They were the ones to help make all of those places home.

Dwelling in the house of the Lord forever is not something I take lightly. Forever is a pretty huge concept, one that implies that it has been going on since the beginning and it will continue going on, well, forever. Which means that not only will we be dwelling in the house of the Lord after our time on earth is over – we are to be dwelling in the house of the Lord now. 

That’s one of the great things about sheep: they don’t know any home apart from their shepherd. Where the shepherd calls home is where the sheep call home. “Home” for a flock of sheep is defined by being with their shepherd. Remember Monday when we touched on those three things sheep need before they are able to rest? The first one was that sheep have to be able to see their shepherd. They don’t lie down somewhere where they can’t see the face of their shepherd.

Our concept of home shouldn’t be rooted in a number of bedrooms, a finished basement or a spacious yard. Our concept of home should be rooted in our Shepherd.

Sometimes a shepherd may call his flock to move on from a location to seek another, and other times He may have a restless flock remain where they are. He may take his sheep to a field that doesn’t seem as green as one they can see up ahead. His sheep trust him, and they remain with Him.

We must learn to do the same. His goodness and His mercy follows us and are reflected in the dwelling place He offers to us in Himself. Dwell in the land the Shepherd brings you to, trusting that His goodness and His mercy remain there with you as well!

Chelsey