Two sheep dogs

 

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)

Have you ever watched sheep dogs working together with their shepherd to care for and guide a flock of sheep? Some sheep dogs work "solo" and others work as a team to follow their shepherd's commands and care for the flock while the master is away. 

I love to watch the competitions in the Scottish games, and see the dogs work. They are the happiest critters! When they are on familiar land, they will learn the different spots where the sheep are likely to gather or rest. They will gather them together calmly in the field, and then guide them in the direction the shepherd commands. What looks to us like aggressive, frantic behavior on the part of the dogs is actually not! The dogs are accustomed to moving around the sheep without disturbing them unduly. Even if the dog is moving quickly, it takes care so that the sheep are not frightened by its movements. It's the job of the sheepdog to work quickly and efficiently to move the sheep where the shepherd directs.

I was told once of a sheepdog who gathered a flock and brought it along to the shepherd, who was surprised at how slowly the flock was moving. When he got closer, he could see that one small lamb was lame - the dog was bringing the entire flock along at a pace that the lamb could handle! 

These were the images in my mind as I read and re-read verse six of our psalm. Different translations have said it as "goodness and mercy" or "goodness and faithfulness" or as the NIV up at the top of this post, "goodness and love." 

We could say that there are two "sheepdogs" who follow God's sheep 24/7. These two "sheepdogs" are goodness and love. 

You know, the rest of the world is chasing after goodness and love, but we believers have God's goodness and love pursuing and protecting us!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

When we read in the book of Genesis about the horrible trials that Joseph endured, we may think, "Wow, I just don't understand how a loving God could allow all of that to happen. How does that even work?" But Joseph looked back at his life and said:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive. (Genesis 50:20)

We can trust in God's goodness:

The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works. (Psalm 145:9)

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (James 1:17)

And we know that we can trust in His love:

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. (I John 4:16, NASB)

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Psalm 86:15, NIV)

Our future is secure. Our Shepherd will always keep us in His fold, and His "sheepdogs" of goodness and love will follow us continually.  We are the most blessed sheep in the world! Why go elsewhere? We will dwell in the house of the Lord -- we will be members of His household. 

The world may look at us and mock us. They may count us as "sheep for the slaughter," but we can be: 

...more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37b)

Yes, the final verse of the psalm encourages us to be content by seeing God's goodness and love in every situation, both now and in the future.

Are we contented sheep in God's pasture? Do we walk every day thinking of all the spiritual riches that are ours in Christ? Do we thank Him for the spiritual waters, the green pastures, and the way He protects us in the midst of conflict? Or have we gotten so caught up in the stresses of the world that we gripe and complain? We find it difficult to be content? I suppose that some of that difficulty lies in the human spirit - when we are young, we look at those older than we, and long to be older. When we are older, we look at the younger folk and wish we were younger! (Grin)

Real contentment comes from experiencing all that our Good Shepherd has provided for us. Each and every day. Not worrying about yesterday. Not stressing about tomorrow. Contentment is available for every one of us in Jesus Christ. Don't miss out on it!