“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters” (Ps. 23:1-2).
Sheep are very passive and submissive by nature. Unlike donkeys, sheep are docile creatures. You see, a donkey has his own mind; he may come with you and he may not. You can beat him, pull on his harness, but that stubborn donkey may just sit down and go “hee-haw, hee-haw.” He’s not going to move until he gets good and ready or until he can see where he’s going.
But sheep are different; they will follow the shepherd. They don’t have to know where the shepherd is leading them because they have blind trust in the shepherd.
Well, the Lord is your Shepherd. He wants to bring you to a place where you don’t need anything, but it requires you to trust Him even when you don’t fully understand where you are going.
When I went away to Bible school, I had no intentions of coming back to Detroit. I had nothing against Detroit, it’s a great place, but I wanted to go somewhere else. So, I gave the Lord a choice of five cities, but the Shepherd wanted me back home.
I thought, “but Lord they laughed at me;” they told me I was dumb to leave my corporate job. They said I wasn’t going to make it. Why should I go back there? I want to go somewhere else. The Lord said, “No, go back to Detroit because that is where my provision is going to be for you.”
Yes, it may look a lot better where you think you should be, but you have to trust the Lord. The better way is God’s way. God’s way will provide more blessings in your life than ever before.
So I obeyed God and came back to Detroit. Yes, I have indeed found out that Detroit was where my provision was. Sure, my choice was different, but what God wants and what you want is not always the same thing.
God has a purpose for you and He’s saying, “Just trust me.” You have to follow the will of God for your life. You can sow seed and you can have a return, but the real return is in the will of God.
Remember, we are His sheep and trusting God when your mind tells you something different is the key to receiving benefits from the Shepherd. Then obeying the Shepherd leads to the blessings in your life.
Scripture References: John 10:4-5,27; Proverbs 3:5-7
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).