Thankful, Day Eight

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

You know, all my life I've heard that the reason God calls His people sheep is because sheep are dumb. It sometimes gets a good laugh out of a crowd who knows their own limitations, but I also think it really misses the point. Out of all the domesticated animals on earth, I think sheep are probably the most personally cared for animals on the planet. So I'm thankful for being a sheep in the pasture of God, this morning.

I'm thankful that the Lord is my Shepherd, and that I shall not want. I'm thankful that He leads me and guides me and directs my life in the way that I should go. I'm thankful that He protects and defends me, that He comforts and keeps me. The Lord watches out for those who are His and does good to them all the days of their lives.

I'm thankful that in the Lord's pasture, He is the one who keeps the grace green and the waters still. He is a wall about me, the door through which I go in and out. He knows everything that I have need of, and He is more than able to abundantly provide for each and every one of my needs, according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus.

I'm thankful that He is my Good Shepherd, the one who lays down His life for His sheep. He's not a hireling who runs at the first sign of trouble, but rather He looked death and hell in the face, and faced them down. He carried the weight of my sins on His shoulders. He took the bill of accusation against me and nailed it to the cross, to be remembered no more. He opened a big ol' can of smack down on my adversary the devil, pulled his stinger and his teeth, and provided for me through His personal sacrifice, and entrance into Heaven and eternal life.

Thank you Jesus, for being my shepherd, and letting me be one of your sheep.