The God Who Has Been My Shepherd All My Life Long
by Paul Tautges | January 27, 2022 6:41 am
In my daily Bible reading this morning, I was struck by a phrase in Jacob’s blessing of Joseph.
…the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day
Genesis 48:15
Through all his failings and sins, times of following and times of straying, Jacob understood that God had been his faithful, loving, caring, chastening, reproving, rewarding, ever-present, long-suffering Shepherd who delights to bless.
God, the Shepherd and Guardian of my soul, has been the same for me. Never failing to walk with me—even carry me when broken, beat up, and defeated by my own failures and sins against God or others, or enduring ill treatment from straying sheep or false shepherds. In my times of following and times of straying, He has never failed me.
I deserve no blessing; I am a sinner worthy of divine judgment. Yet my abundantly gracious Shepherd, whose mercy in Christ is greater than my sins, daily floods my soul with renewed life and joy. And my life, my family, and my church continue to receive the richest blessings of all—the blessings that matter most in this life and the life to come. Indeed, sometime in the next couple months (not sure exactly when), it will be the thirty-eighth anniversary of my conversion to Christ, my divine rescue—when Jesus pursued and found me, lost and wayward—I am in awe of the God who has been my Shepherd all my life long to this day, even when my flesh didn’t want Him to be.
Spirit, help me. I want to be a more obedient sheep, to follow and walk alongside my Shepherd and be carried when needed—to feed and rest in His pasture.
Related
Source URL: https://counselingoneanother.com/2022/01/27/the-god-who-has-been-my-shepherd-all-my-life-long/
The God Who Has Been My Shepherd All My Life Long
by Paul Tautges | January 27, 2022 6:41 am
In my daily Bible reading this morning, I was struck by a phrase in Jacob’s blessing of Joseph.
Through all his failings and sins, times of following and times of straying, Jacob understood that God had been his faithful, loving, caring, chastening, reproving, rewarding, ever-present, long-suffering Shepherd who delights to bless.
God, the Shepherd and Guardian of my soul, has been the same for me. Never failing to walk with me—even carry me when broken, beat up, and defeated by my own failures and sins against God or others, or enduring ill treatment from straying sheep or false shepherds. In my times of following and times of straying, He has never failed me.
I deserve no blessing; I am a sinner worthy of divine judgment. Yet my abundantly gracious Shepherd, whose mercy in Christ is greater than my sins, daily floods my soul with renewed life and joy. And my life, my family, and my church continue to receive the richest blessings of all—the blessings that matter most in this life and the life to come. Indeed, sometime in the next couple months (not sure exactly when), it will be the thirty-eighth anniversary of my conversion to Christ, my divine rescue—when Jesus pursued and found me, lost and wayward—I am in awe of the God who has been my Shepherd all my life long to this day, even when my flesh didn’t want Him to be.
Related
Source URL: https://counselingoneanother.com/2022/01/27/the-god-who-has-been-my-shepherd-all-my-life-long/