Pieces of a Puzzle

Puzzles are time consuming.  It is an involvement of viewing all the intricate pieces scattered before me and the tedious process of finding each interlocking connection for the sole purpose of creating the elegant masterpiece on the box.  Nonetheless, there is a lesson to be learned from puzzles.  Each piece of a puzzle is only representative of a larger picture.  If you only held one piece in your hand, apart from what is shown on the box, you would not be able to identify the complete picture.  We often force the interlocking pieces to fit where we think it fits.  That is the mistake we too often make in seeking God’s will in our lives.  First, in God’s complete plan for our lives, each circumstance, each teachable moment, and each event is but a piece of a puzzle in which God is shaping together to enable us to be a finished product in our lives.  There is a purpose.  It is not while we are working on the puzzle when we can see the picture for it is when we have completed it when we are able to do so.  It will serve us well to remember the way God operates or thinks is much often much different than the way we think He should operate.  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8)  It is said that the Will of God is like reading a Hebrew book.  In the Hebrew book, you read from the back to the front.  It is only after we have been through the process in God’s plan when we can often look back and see why God allowed certain things to happen in life.  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Roman 8:28) Those moments in life are not occurring for some vain or vague reason.  They are occurring for a purpose in which is beneficial to us beyond our reasoning and understanding.  Much like a Hebrew book, it is not until the time has passed and the work is completed when we can look back and say, “That’s why”.  It is hard to fathom when enduring such a moment but it is then when we must simply trust and allow God to operate within our life.  If you can’t see it, then chances are God is not finish, yet.  Secondly, while waiting on God’s plan to be revealed, we must not allow doubt and discouragement to sink in.  Oh how we oftentimes let our human frailty to control our emotions and patience.  After grasping each piece of the puzzle and to our disappointment, we often find that those pieces of the puzzles that we were so sure would fit, in fact did not.  Our patience wears thin and too often we quit before the puzzle is finished.  Waiting on God in your life requires absolute patience.  Let the pieces come together and allow it to be completed and watch the joyous transformation as God’s will and purpose for your life comes into full focus. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:3-5)  There must be a willingness within us to allow this happen.  God truly does have a purpose and a plan for all of us.  It is up to us to allow God to slowly piece together His plan in our lives and allow each teachable moment and circumstance reveal to us a masterpiece that is called life.  Our attitude must be like that of the Psalmist: Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. (Psalms 25:4)  There are but two ways in life: God’s way or our way.  To see the difference is to see the end result.  In God’s way, the end result is a beautiful picture and you can see how all the interlocking pieces fit together to make the picture before you.  Our way, the results are often muddled or obscured.  Our steps are much like Bil Keane’s “Family Circus” portrayal of a child going from Point A to Point B, there is no sense of direction and the footsteps are all over the place.  They say it takes patience to complete a puzzle.  So does waiting on God’s plan for one’s life.  They say there is a gratifying emotional element in completing a puzzle.  So does waiting on God’s plan in one’s life.  What is happening in your life?  Are you facing a teachable moment?  Throw yourself into the arms of God and let Him work within you a greater plan.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:6)  For what is happening in your life is but a piece of the puzzle.

I Am Rich

I am rich.  Richer beyond my wildest imagination.  That was the thought running through my mind one night during supper.  My wife sat across the table from me, while around the table sat my three children.  Their laughter filled the room. The angelic glow on their faces with a splash of smile lit the room that evening.  As I leaned back in the chair to let the digestive work begin on another delicious meal, I looked around our modest 3 bedroom house and wondered in awe at how rich I am.  My riches are not as the world defines it.  It is not material.  We do not have the most money, the fanciest of clothes, the elegant mansions or the flashiest jewels, but we do have the love of family, the greatness of our heritage, and the grace of God.  When you have nothing left but God, then you realize that God is more than enough, said Maude Roykin.  Over the past few months in my journey of faith as I have sought to rediscover God, I have learned that God has given me more than I need and continues to do so.  We live in that very evidence.  A brief look around will show you that evidence as well.  As I type this, I reflect back to the day when we were to close on this house.  We almost lost it.  Everything was going smoothly and my wife and I along with our 6 month old twin daughters were excited about the prospect of leaving the small 2 bedroom duplex just off the interstate.  It had served its purpose well for my wife and I, but now as a growing family, we had outgrown it.  We had prayed for God to provide us a dwelling place for our family and we had searched for several months until we decided on the one in Allerton.  It was the last place I wanted to be at.  Two days before we closed, we took one last tour of the house and had visions of each room and the purpose they will serve but in that office as we gathered around that large polished dark cherry stained table, those dreams were almost taken from us.  I held to my girls tightly and whispered a prayer.  The seller’s lawyer was making the process difficult.  The sellers themselves were looking to sell the house and travel 25 miles to close on another one and they too were about to have their dream crushed.  I prayed harder.  The seller’s lawyer recused himself from the room and after a sigh of relief around the room, the deal was made.  We were given keys.  We made the trip to our new home and placed the girls in what would be their playroom and to our amazement, they seemed so small in that big room.  God has enriched us with a place to live.  There sits a mini-van in our driveway.  One we almost were not able to get.  God enriched us.  Of course, there sits our two girls, ones we thought we would never have.  Eight months after their birth, my wife and I received the news that we now had another one on the way.  There was a room designated to be her office, it is now the bedroom of my son.  We had still had plenty of space to use for her office.  As I sat around that table, I realized, I am rich.  Everything I have and everything I need was given to me by God.  I am where I am and I am who I am because of the great riches available and found only in God.  God has made me rich.  I do not want what the world considers as rich, because only the riches that God can give is accompanied by joy, peace, and blessings. Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. (I Timothy 6:17).  It is amazing the efforts many will go through to gather the riches and the treasures of this world.  People will descend the deepest caves, dive to the deepest depths of the oceans, and disregard the respect of fellow man all for the glory of an earthly treasure.  Yet, the treasure of the unsearchable riches of Christ is only a heartbeat away.  It offers to us salvation.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. (Ephesians 1:7)  It offers to us sustenance.  And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:19)  It offers satisfaction. That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ. (Colossians 2:2).  None of these things can the riches of this world offer us.  Sure it can offer us sustenance, but only temporal sustenance.  In life we not only need temporal but spiritual as well.  Some says, but it can offer satisfaction.  But the satisfaction is also temporal and earthly riches only give you an unhealthy desire for more.  I am rich.  Listen to the laughter of our family.  Share in our love.  Experience the warmth and the gratitude of our home.  To do that is to see the riches that God has provided to us.

God's loudest answers is sometimes His quietest

It has been said many times that God’s silence does not mean no.  Sometimes during the course of our walk with God and in the never ending search for His will, the silence is deafening.  Seeds begin to take root and slowly our faith is being choked by the weeds of doubt and discouragement.  God is faithful.  He often sends you reminders that you are still His.  God oftentimes in the quietest way will give you the loudest encouragement.  My journey over the past several months has been that of waiting.  Waiting is not easy.  There are moments when I question the sanity of our decisions (or insanity).  Throughout the past several months, God has given us golden nuggets of encouragement.  Some of the most cherished nuggets are the quiet ones even amidst the chaos.  Satan’s attacks us from all sides and with different angles.  He is armed with doubt, discouragement, anger, bitterness, and frustration.  He stands ready at the sign of the first crack of your shield of faith.  His agenda is to cut down the very foundation of your relationship with God.  Through it all, you wait for that one message from God.  You know the promises that He has given to you.  Those promises for you in such as time as this and you cling dearly to them.  But, He is quiet.  You diligently search for the voice of your Master among the angry seas in the billowing wind.  Like a child crying in the darkness, you cry out for your Heavenly Father, waiting for His comforting embrace.  Then God in His quietness provides you the loudest encouragement.  It comes at a time, when you need it the most.  It comes in a way you expected it least.  Nevertheless, it comes.  Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (I Kings 19:11-12)  One day while organizing my bookshelf, I came across a church bulletin that I did not know I still had, much less kept it there.  It was a church that I preached at 3 months before.  But recently, God had been silent.  It was a simple quiet reminder of my journey in seeking God’s will for my family’s life.  It also reminded me to pray.  Within an hour of praying, a church phoned me.  God’s encouragement for me that day was loud.  On another day, my emotions were in a state of war.  I was trying to be at peace and content in my wait with God, but my emotions were overrun by doubt and discouragement.  I stole away for a quiet time but emotionally, I could not.  I picked up a Bible and a devotional book and in God’s own quiet way He gave me the encouragement I needed.  I placed the Bible and the book aside and knelt down in prayer.  I prayed and I pleaded and I thanked God for the personal message He had given to me in His word.  I shared it with my wife and we both had a smile on our face.  Yes, God was still working and still preparing us for something greater.  Within two hours, I received an email from a friend that I met in a church that I preached at.  It did not say much, but the timing and the thoughts, spoke volumes of encouragement to me.  Too often we are guilty of seeking God’s answers in a bold package, but His loudest ones are the quietest ones.  God does not necessarily come to us in the wind and the fire, but will most likely reveal Himself to us in a still small voice.  When we are surrounded by chaos, whether it be emotional, physical, or spiritual, we can often find God in the smallest way.  Instead of being disappointed in how God answered, be thankful that He in fact, did answer.  You see, God’s quietest answers are mostly His loudest.  Sit, wait, and allow Him to answer, but don’t just look for Him in the most powerful, but also in the most quiet.

To Know Jehovah-Rapha

It was the phone call that I had been waiting for.  The day began with my heart deep in prayer.  It was just months before that I received the disturbing news that my step father had lymphoma in his throat. The unwelcome cancerous visitor had tread into our lives unexpectedly.  There were only two options: chemotherapy and prayer.  I could not do the chemotherapy, but I could pray.  My heart was in humble but fervent prayer.  On behalf of my stepfather, I knocked on the gates of Heaven and pleaded earnestly at the throne of grace.  My soul trembled patiently as I waited for God’s answer.  My stepfather who had undergone weeks of intense chemotherapy was to have an x-ray to check the progression of either the cancer or the chemotherapy.  Then the phone rang. 

A loving aunt, mother, and grandmother had suffered a massive aneurysm.  She was at the point of death.  The hope of recovery was slim and none.  The outlook was as bleak as it could be.  Word spread throughout the family and friends within the church.  Through the speed of internet, the prayers of many were now lifted on behalf of this saintly woman who helped to make a tremendous impact in my life.  She was my mother’s sister.  She gave me my first job.  On bended knees, I prayed.  It was not just the church, nor the town, but many throughout the state and the nation were now praying.  For each moment that passed, I waited for the news.

A young Christian couple had received the devastating news that no one wants to hear.  Their young child had cancer.  The road ahead looked depressing.  They could hear the words of the doctor, but they could not listen to what he had to say.  Instead, the eyes were drawn to their precious daughter who God had lovingly blessed them with.  Would God take away that which had been given to them.  The doctor began to spell out a plan of action for the wellness of their young daughter, but there was one that only they knew.  Pray.

And said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26).  Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our Healer.  In a world of modern medical miracles, the power of healing still belongs to God.  It is a miracle I have witnessed throughout life.  I watched my mother who struggled with brain tumor long since recovered and continue her devout service to God as a writer, speaker, and leader among women.  I have seen her at the most unimagined physical low points now testifying of the undeniable mercy of her creator.  The phone call that I had waited for, came bearing the news that the cancer is in remission.  My aunt who was being prayed for by hundreds if not thousands, has long since left that deathbed and still remaining active at her husband’s side, in the church’s corridor, and for her Master’s kingdom.  That young couple has long left that doctor's office.  Grief and fear has since been replaced by joy and laughter.  Their young daughter, no longer a victim, became a victor of the alien sickness that invaded her body.  A look at her is a look at health and healing.  Jehovah-Rapha.  The Lord our healer, has made His healing power available to us in all areas of life.  The lame were made to walk.  The blind were made to see.  The lepers were made whole.  The heartbroken had their hearts pieced together again.  All at the mercy of their loving Savior.  God still brings healing to our situations.  Only He can heal the struggles and the troubles.  He still brings healing to our sicknesses.  On behalf of the praying saints, our Savior has reached down with His nail scarred hands and touched us in ways  that no medical professional is able.  Of course, He heals our souls.  Through the precious blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish, sin’s sick hold on our life will be broken free.  No longer held by the outcome of sin, we have now been healed by the hope of God.  The Bibles has given to us verses of hope that shows the healing power of God. 

O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. (Psalm 30:2)

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5)

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.  The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:1-3)

When your soul is hurting, when your body is struggling, when your situations seems dark, instead of relying upon the words of men, thrust yourself in the arms of Jehovah-Rapha, for He is able to heal you.  Look around and you for His healing is everywhere.  Praise the Lord!

To Know Jehovah-Shammah

The noise startled my twin daughters in the middle of the night.  The steady wind outside was causing the welcome sign outside of their window rhythmically tap against the side of the house.  After hearing their cries and whimpers, I walked into their rooms, embraced them in my arms and quietly told them that all is well.  They wrapped their arms tightly around me and pulled themselves closer to me.  Their cries grew silent and their breathing slowed to a steady calm.  Everything was well, for the presence of their father calmed them.  All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.” (Ezekiel 48:35).  Ezekiel paints a picture of a city.  Many commentators are in agreement that this city speaks of Jerusalem.  Not the one currently in existence, but the New Jerusalem, the one that is yet to come.  The one spoken of, described, and vividly portrayed in Revalation.  It not only describes the wonder of God’s presence in that Holy city, but from Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is there, we can derive from its meaning the one constant of hope for every Christian, God is with us.  He will never leave or forsake you.  We can take great comfort and find absolute assurance that God is in trouble.  We are not alone, from the ends of the earth, through the most vehement storms, God is there.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. (Isaiah 43:2)  What comfort that brings to know that He will be with us.  He is Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is there.  Much like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the midst of a blazing fiery furnace, a fourth joined them.  Much to the surprise and the chagrin of Nebuchadnezzar, who witnessed only three men thrown in the fire so hot that it scorched and slew the very men who casted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he witnessed those same three walking unharmed and unsigned in the company of their protector who is there.  Jehovah-Shammah is our shelter in the time of trouble.  We can find safety in the midst of life’s troubles in the shelter of His embrace.  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1).   Instead of facing the brunt of life’s wind, in the shelter of his grace we can find peace.  When the clouds darken the sky, He is there.  When the rain falls, He is there.  When the thunder bellows on the seas of life, He is there.  Seek shelter in the presence of Jehovah.  Not only do we find in Psalm 46:1 that He is there to be our shelter, He is there to be our strength.  The strength we need to endure what we face is not our own, but a divine strength, that only God can give.   The same strength that spoke the created world into existence, divided a major sea into two, squeezed water from a rock, brought down the heavy stone walls of a fortified city, and shut the mouth of lions is present in the form of Jehovah.  There is no need to fear, for Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is there.  Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.  Selah.  There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.  God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. (Psalm 46:2-5)  In the midst of all the chaos, in the midst of all the treachery, and in the midst of all instability, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there.  Be comforted, for God is in the midst of troubles to be our solace.  The next time you are faced with an unknown or a circumstance that seems overwhelming, remember that you are not alone, but cling to Jehovah-Shammah.

To Know Jehovah-Tsidkenu

Sin has damaged the perfection of the human race.  As generations pass, the moral fabric of society continues to deteriorate.  Pick up the newspaper or a glance at the images of your news channel will leave a man emotionally downtrodden.  How can we like Noah find grace in the eyes of the Lord?  Are our wretched lives filled with hopelessness?  Yet, within the pages of the Old Testament among the words of the weeping prophet, so called because of his continued expression of grief over the stubborn and unrepentant nature of His people, there are words of hope.  In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.  (Jeremiah 23:6)  Jehovah-Tsidkenu  means the Lord our righteousness.  Jehovah; I Am.  Tsidkenu; Righteousness.  Within the beauty of that name, there is found the gospel message and the hope of our salvation.   To grasp the importance of righteousness, we must first develop a humble spirit much like that of Isaiah in Isaiah 6 and realize the insufficiency of our own righteousness.  So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”  (Isaiah 6:5).  If we can set aside our human pride and allow ourselves to be viewed not as the way we want to be viewed but viewed in the way God views us in His eyes as revealed in His word, only then can we see the insufficiency of our own righteousness.  Works will not save us.  We will not save us.  To depend on anything of this world or of ourselves is to follow after vain hope.  There is no need to stop on this sobering truth, for to do so we will be missing the joy.  For you see, God implemented righteousness.  When He gave the world His only son, He gave the world hope for righteousness.  While we will suffer failure in relying on ourselves for righteousness and salvation, we can find hope in trusting in God’s only Son for righteousness.  When the final words of Christ were spoken on Calvary those many centuries ago, He was laying the groundwork for righteousness for generations to come.  “It is finished” was a final declaration that God’s plan of salvation and righteousness was in place.  The penalty and the price of sin’s wages had been paid.  To accept Christ is to allow God to impute His righteousness among us.  And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith (Philippians 3:9).  The most elegant descriptive of the word impute is “to charge to one’s account”.  When God sees us, He does not see our sins, for they have been blanketed by the righteousness found in the shed blood of Christ.  To receive righteousness is to understand that it is freely given and requires a simple task on our part.  That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)  In this world of hopelessness, there is still hope to be found.  Though for many the future of this world looks dark and depressing, through Christ’s imputed righteousness on our lives, our future is glorious and bright.  Don’t be held by sin’s dread sway, but thrust yourselves into the saving arms of Christ and receive a new outlook on life. 

To Know Jehovah-Rohi

One of my favorite jobs that I have had in my lifetime is a laborer on a pig farm.  It was a surprisingly tedious task.  Twice a day, I would walk through each of our 5 long barns which housed over 500 pigs each to ensure the feeders were clean and flowing properly.  Another portion was designated to the vaccination to ensure the health of the pigs while still another was designated to cull the weak and sick pigs from the healthy ones.  While reflecting on this, I can only imagine what it must have been like for the shepherds during the Bible times.  In one of the most beloved Psalms, a most elegant picture is painted which even today is one of the most cherished images we have of God.  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)  Jehovah-Roi (Rohi, Raah) – The Lord your Shepherd.  I like that meaning.  He is a shepherd.  He is not the shepherd.  He is YOUR shepherd.  Each one of us, no matter where we are in this world, has a personal relationship as a sheep with a shepherd.  Like a shepherd would know his sheep by name, our Shepherd knows us by name.  Oh the Bible is filled with such beautiful pictures describing to us in vivid details what that means to us.  From the very verses of the 23^rd Psalm to the life-changing truths of Jesus’s parable, a picture is painted for our viewing pleasure the beauty of our relationship with God, a relationship of a sheep and a shepherd.  In the very first verse of Psalm 23, we read that your Shepherd provides.  In the dry spells of life, when the grass seemingly withers and the waters seem stagnant and tasteless, He calls us to follow, for where He leads, the grass is greener and the water is fresher.  When in our relationship our Shepherd provides for us, we find ourselves needing little but blessed beyond all measure.  In the 2^nd verse, we find that our Shepherd offers to us peace.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)  In the wake of life’s storms and we can lie down safely in to his fold knowing that His very touch and His very voice calms our soul in the midst of the tempestuous winds.  Only in our relationship with Him can we find quiet rest.  Only in Him can lie down in peace, quiet and restful peace.  He will feed His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom nd gently lead those who are with young. (Isaiah 40:11)  How beautiful that picture of Him gathering us into His arms, carrying us, and gently leading us.  Heed the words of Jesus as He invites us to “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  In the first part of the third verse, we see the power of the Shepherd.  He restores my soul…. (Psalm 23:3a)  As we thrust our weary and tired souls into the comforting arms of our Shepherd, He wraps us tightly to His bosom of love and blankets us with His strength and His grace.  In His arms we find restoration, revitalization, and recharging for our souls.  In the second part of Psalm 23:3, we find His purpose.  He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3b)  Let Him guide you through those winding roads where beyond every curve lies the unknown.  Do not rely on your own misunderstandings or through your own finite knowledge, but simply thrust your faith into the perfect will of God and trust His infinite wisdom to lead you through.  It is only in the safety of His arms and in the realms of His will that peace can be found.  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5,6)  How reassuring to know that if we simply trust Him and let Him, He will guide us.  It is that guidance and the seeking of His purpose for our lives which smoothly leads us to His protection found in the 4^th verse.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)  In the face of roaring lions, arrogant giants, raging seas, and ravenous wolves, our Shepherd protects us.  Though we walk through valleys, He leads us to mountaintops.  Though we are surrounded by tempestuous winds on the wild seas, He leads us to the safety of dry land.  Though Satan lays his traps beneath our every steps, our Shepherd frees us from those dangerous snares.  My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net. (Psalm 25:15).  There is another more beautiful picture painted of the protection of the shepherd is how far he will go for that sheep.  What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? (Matthew 18:12)  A shepherd loves His sheep to the point that when the sheep strays from the safety of His fold, he will go through any means necessary to find and return that sheep to the safety of the fold.  Any means necessary?  Yes, He, our Shepherd (Christ) went through any means (the cross) necessary to provide a means (salvation) for His sheep (us) to return to the safety of His fold (His mercy and His grace).  And then we come to the close of that widely adored Psalm which now paints the picture of the prosperity that our Shepherd gives to us, His sheep.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:5,6)  The offerings and all the enticing of this world far outweigh the generous care of our providing Shepherd who prospers us and enables us to victory.  Each day with the Shepherd is a new day of blessings.  Our greatest reward is still to come.  When we cross life’s final phase and cross the threshold of death, we will enter safely into that eternal fold never to worry about arrogant roaring lions, arrogant giants, raging seas, and ravenous wolves again and forever.  That fold so meticulously and lovingly prepared for each one of us.  Its beauty far outshines the sun that rises and sets.  Like sheep dependent on the shepherd, may we trust Him, rely on Him, and allow Him to lead us through the cares and the problems of this world until the blessed day arrives when we forever embrace and enjoy the presence of the Good Shepherd.