Shelter, Shield, Shepherd (Part 3/3)

Jesus, My Shelter: Protection from the elements (Part 1) 

Jesus, My Shield: Protection from enemies (Part 2)

A more brief recap…

The 3 Truths You Hope To Find

An open door.  When the elements exert their power over us, our first and only thought is, ‘How can I get out of this?’  Anything will do.  But something permanent would be perfect.

A safe place.  Arrows of hatred whiz by.  Unkind words stab.  Mistreatment stings.  To just be ignored will do, but to be saved would be perfect.

A hero.  When you don’t know, you want to know someone who does.  When you can’t, you hope there is someone who can.  A stranger will do, but a father would be perfect.

Jesus, My Shepherd: Provision of Everything

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray” (see Isaiah).  That is a felt reality we all experience and bear every day.  If it wasn’t then why do you always feel like you’re seeking something?  Why this sense of lostness?

Sheep, as I have heard, are dumb.  They don’t make right choices based on reason.  They choose based on limited information being filtered through a feeble mind.  Sheep couldn’t reason their way through one day, much less a lifetime.  And it isn’t like sheep have a whole lot to do.  Eat grass.  Drink water. Lie down.  That basically covers it.

Sheep rely (not volitionally, but necessarily) entirely on shepherds.  A shepherd exists not because the sheep understood their need, discussed their options, and chose to have a human being lead them around all the time so they could live thanks to his care. But rather a shepherd exists because he knows sheep. He knows their limitations and needs. He knows where they will make mistakes and chooses to care for them in order to save them from themselves.

The shepherd meets the needs of the sheep not because they seek him out but because he seeks them out.  He provides everything for them, not because they ask, but because he cares for and knows them.

Jesus calls himself the ‘Good Shepherd’ who lays down his life for the sheep. We are sheep.  We have not sought Him out, but He has sought us out and found us.

As a shepherd must do and provide everything for his sheep, Jesus has done and provided everything for us. Salvation, sustenance, cleansing, rest, defense, care.

Dwell for a moment in the tension between the oblivious nature of your sheepness and the glimmering of hope that your human mind perceives in the light of the gospel.  Feel your need of a shepherd. Realize the love of Jesus, the Chief Shepherd (see 1 Peter).

Closing thoughts

There are common threads that run through all of us. A vulnerability to elemental forces. A felt opposition or apathy on the part of others to our well-being. And a tremendous capacity to be completely helpless.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, put on flesh in order to provide us with an impenetrable shelter and shield from both the force of God’s wrath raining down on our sin and the fiery darts hurled at us from every enemy.  He laid down his life like a Shepherd for His sheep in order to provide us everything we would ever need for both this life and the life beyond.

Jesus. Our shelter from storms. Our shield from enemies. Our provision for everything.

O my Shelter! You are a refuge to where I can run and be saved from the scorching heat of the day and the chilling winds of the desolate night. O, Mighty Shield! You are to me a sure and reliable defense from the wily attacks of my enemies. O, Great Shepherd! From Your hands I find the provision of all I want and need.