There has always been a hunger and thirst in the human soul that no material goods or possessions can ever sate. At the heart of this hunger is the gnawing human insecurity that in the grand scheme of things, I am nothing. Marveling at the vastness of the oceans, man is nothing but a piece to flesh tossed upon the waves. Standing in the shadows of massive mountains, man is no more than another clump of dust and pebbles. Cowering in fear before storm and thunder, man is just like another leaf blown in the wind.
Yet, in the midst of all this grandeur and in spite of his smallness in the face of it all, man hears a voice deep inside him that there is someone who assures him he shall not want. And he doesn’t. That in spite of the fragility and uncertainty of life, he will find still waters where he is restored. And he does. Just as a tender shoot struggles to grow on the mountainside and in the face of the fierce winds coming from the sea, so does man find a place that has been prepared just for him, where his cup overflows.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff,they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Sheep do not have the mind and intelligence that men have. But they have a heart that tells them who their shepherd is. They do not reason out that the shepherd is feeding them only to make meat of them later. They just trust that the shepherd has nothing but their good in mind. I have both intelligence and heart with which to know and seek my own Good Shepherd.
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.”
John 10:27-30
Because Jesus is our good shepherd, “no one can snatch (us) from his hands.” This assures us we will always be with him and he with us, protecting us, guiding us and giving us comfort. This passage reminds me of another great passage in the bible which assures us that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.”