Daily Devotional

-August 31, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-Let Us Worship God Our Shepherd And Follow Him-

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice:”

(Psalm 95:6-7).

Psalm 95 is a rich and beautiful psalm written by an unknown writer. Six times in this psalm, the psalmist uses the expression “let us.” He says, “Let us sing” (v.1); “Let us shout,” (v.1); “Let us come” (v.2); “Let us shout,” (v.2); “Let us worship and bow down,” (v.6); “Let us kneel,” (v.6). This represents one man’s call for worship to the congregation of God’s people. We commonly hear this expression in our churches today, “Let us pray,” “let us sing,” “let us take the bread and wine,” and “let us open the Word of God.” We gather together and worship together.

The psalmist refers to God as our Maker, and by inference as our Shepherd. God created us, saved us, and He cares for us. One of His titles is Shepherd. David wrote in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” David was a shepherd before he was a soldier and a king. He found God’s care in every area and aspect of his life. A shepherd must feed, water, lead, and protect, and provide for the sheep. A shepherd has more than one sheep but cares for each sheep as it was his only one. In some parts of the world today there are shepherds still working with sheep.

Jesus is our Shepherd. He is called the Good Shepherd (John 10:11); the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20-21); and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:2-4). We are His sheep. Sheep are dense and defenseless. They need constant care and supervision lest they wander off and fall prey to some predators. Being a sheep is not very flattering to our human egos, but when we are shepherded by Jesus it is uplifting and encouraging. We are fully dependent on Him. We hear His voice and follow Him. He leads us to the green pastures and still waters.

Sheep are very fearful creatures. The shepherd must constantly assure the sheep that they will be safe and secure. We too are by nature very fearful creatures. This is why the expression, “Fear not,” is found some 365 times, once for each day of the year. There are so many things that cause us fear, but our faith in Christ overcomes our fear. As someone said, “Never fear when Jesus is near.” Because He is always with us, there is nothing to fear. Maybe today something is troubling your heart or weighing heavily on your mind. Seek the Lord our Shepherd and give the matter to Him.

Let us worship and bow down to our Lord, our Shepherd today. May we stay close to Him and not stray in any way. He will feed us, guide us, care for us, provide for us, and protect us. We are His beloved sheep, He is our beloved and blessed Shepherd.

Have a blessed day following our Shepherd who loves us and cares for us. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean