Psalm 48:14 – For this God is our God  for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.

Psalm 37:4-6 – Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Deuteronomy 33:12 – Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.

I came across these verses today and fell in love with the imagery.  I couldn’t help but see a shepherd with his lambs.  Guiding them.  Giving them the desires of their heart.  Carrying them between his shoulders.  Fighting for and defending them.  Protective, loving.

The picture was so vivid that I had to go back and look at Psalm 23 again – the passage famous for depicting Jesus as our shepherd.  I wrote it out and filled in where the verses above overlapped the message of this beloved psalm.  So awesome!!!

Psalm 23 – “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me (our guide) beside quiet waters, he restores my soul (rests between his shoulders).  He guides (our guide) me in paths of righteousness (He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn) for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me (our God); your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies (the justice of your cause).  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows (He will give you the desires of your heart).  Surely good ness and love will follow me all the days of my life (forever and ever), and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (even to the end).

Today is the first day of July and I have declared that this will be a month of doing something new every single day.  Something to stretch me and grow me and add a little zest to life.  So it was perfect to come across these verses today and know that each new step I take, each new endeavor I try, I am in the care and direction and arms of a Shepherd who loves me more than I can even imagine….

(day one of “new stuff” – I am accepting a NEW part time job of staging a locally owned consignment clothing and home furnishings store each week.)