Just Sheep.

I have gotten into a bad habit of putting meaning into God's word rather than taking truth from what the Word says. I come in with my own thoughts and predispositions in mind when I read the Bible. I fail to read the text for what it is and seek God through it all. That's something that I need to start doing. While I don't think I have been misled yet, putting my own personal meaning in the Bible has the potential to lead me down the wrong path as I am following my own direction rather than that of God.

Psalm 23:1
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

The imagery here is obvious of a shepherd tending to his flock. Being from the city, I really don't understand shepherds and all that fun farm stuff but one thing that I've learned from children's stories is that shepherds provide for their sheep. They protect the sheep from wolves. They guide the sheep to where they need to go. They provide food and water. They value each sheep to the point where they will look for one lost sheep. What David is writing here has great value. He knows that the Lord is watching out for Him, protecting and providing for him every step of the way. God leads him to "green pastures" and "quiet waters". The purpose of the shepherd is to care for the sheep and provide for their every need.

God is willing to do the same thing with us. God is our shepherd, constantly watching out for our well being. He knows our every need and provides continually for us. He leads us to places that we could not get on our own. He opens doors and opportunities for us that we cannot open. If God is leading me, I have two options, to follow his lead or to take the lead myself. I need to stop doing the latter.

I got my Organic Chemistry exam grade back today. The whole day, I've been criticizing myself over a B. I've been telling myself I need an A, that I need to work harder, study harder, and mess around less. If I want to get into pharmacy school, I need an A in this class. What I didn't do was lift it up to God and acknowledge that He is in control, that He is the shepherd of my life. God knows my needs better than I do and He will provide in due time. My response is to trust in God and the direction that He is leading me in, knowing full well that He will provide for my needs every step of the way. I don't need A's. I don't need pharmacy school. I don't need to push everything out of the way in my pursuit of pharmacy school and alleged happiness. I need God.