The Lord is my Shepherd...

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..." (Psalm 23:1)
          I shall not want, I shall not lack; I shall not be in need of anything... Simple words but with a powerful meaning. We know the shepherd's responsibility is to take care of the sheep. We've been told that sheep are a bit "stupid so we know they certainly need to be taken care of. Pretty much like us. We may not want to admit it but we can be  a bit "stupid" sometimes too. Or maybe lots of times!!! We see danger and we still run straight into it. Many times problems and trouble seem to run to us like a magnet, we can't avoid them. Yes, we need taking care of and that's what our Shepherd is there for.  He is there to guide us through the pitfalls of life. He'll prevent some, He'll take us through others. Once you belong to Him, Jesus is obligated to watch over you, to take care of you, to protect, you, that's His job. Here's the problem: He knows that, but we don't or at least we don't seem to fully understand that. We run away from His care like prodigal children. We want to do it all our own. We want to do it our way not His way and when we get stuck, we wonder why. When we get hurt, we wonder why He didn't prevent it, why He didn't stop it, why He didn't warn us. But . . . He did. We just didn't listen because we were too busy doing it all ourselves. Yet, He is such a gentle Shepherd, He does not force His will on us because He has given us free will, the power to make our own choices and decisions, even to reject Him . . . or accept Him, if we so choose.
          Yet, if we look carefully at His role as outlined in Psalm 23, it is one of tender, constant and sure care, concern and love. He provides, He protects, He keeps, He comforts. No enemy whether human or non-human can overcome us. He is always there, watching over us, covering us, protecting and sustaining us. So what's our role in all of this? We see His clearly. Our role is to trust. To trust that no matter what comes our way, He's got us and not just us but the problem, the situation, He's got ALL of it. And if He's got ALL of it, it means nothing ever has Him; nothing ever catches Him by surprise or throws Him off guard. Nothing can knock Him off His throne. Nothing can take away His power and authority. So why do we worry? Because we always look at things from our limited, weak perspective instead of from His powerful, steadfast one. Our God never fails! No matter what comes our way, it CANNOT come unless He allows it! It CANNOT touch us unless He wills it! If the devil had to get permission to touch Job, how much more us?!! As children of God we are covered, we are protected. And if ALL  things work together for our good, then that means that it will ALWAYS work our for us no matter the fire, no matter the storm, God will use it to even perfect us. 
          It will work out for our good, for our "best." So, why worry again? We don't have to. Why not just trust God instead. He's got it. He's got ALL of it. Nothing has Him or ever will. He is not wired to be controlled but to ALWAYS be in control!!!