“He Guides Me in Paths of Righteousness for His Name’s Sake” Psalm 23:3

Sheep are creatures of habit.  If left to themselves, they will follow the same trails until they become ruts.  They will graze the same hills until it becomes a desert waste.  Poor management on the part of the shepherd can lead to all sorts of problems.  

There is a sheep farm on Johnson Road here in LaPorte.  As I traveled that road quite often in 2022 for various doctor appointments, I found It interesting to see how often the owners of that farm would lead the sheep from one area of pasture land to another.  As I’ve also studied their patterns of behavior it became clear to me that they can’t get along just anywhere.  There is no other class of livestock that requires more detailed direction than that of sheep.

The intelligent shepherd is aware of all of the above.  They must be shifted from pasture to pasture periodically, just like that sheep farm referred to earlier.  That is sound management and this is the idea in mind by David when he spoke of being led in paths of righteousness.  It is no mere whim on God’s part to call us sheep.  Our behavior patterns and life patterns can be much like that of sheep.  Isaiah 53:6 tells us “We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way”.  Turning our own way simply means doing what I want.  Jesus on the other hand says; “I am the way, the truth and the life”.

Hosea, one of the prophets of the Old Testament had this to say about righteousness; “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord that he may come and rain righteousness on you”.   The word “Righteousness” is a big word. For sinners like you and I, to be righteous before God is through faith in Jesus.  When we believe the Word of God which tells us that Christ fulfilled all righteousness for us through His sacrifice on the cross, He made full atonement for all our sins and God credits it to us for righteousness. Jesus asserts the importance of righteousness by saying in Matthew 5:20, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Do we sometimes become so stubborn, and self-sufficient that we don’t want to be led in the paths of righteousness?  Our failure to follow the path that Christ lays out for us can lead to ruin and remorse.  Listen to what Jesus tells us in Mark 8:34 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”.  God wants us to move on with Him.  He wants us to walk with Him.  Some may consider His call impossible to carry out, but if we are in earnest about wanting to do His will, and to be led, He makes this possible.  Listen to what the Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose”.  Yes, God wants to guide you and me to walk in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.