Yahweh Roi: The Lord is My Shepherd
INTRODUCTION
As we continue to deepen our relationship with God, it is imperative that we truly know who He is. We know that He is our everything, Yes, but I would like to invite you to go on a little journey with me. The goal is to end this exploration with a better understanding and knowledge of who God is, through the study of some of the names of God.
It is my continued endeavor to grow in my faith in God and who He is, day by day. It is in the simple knowledge of who God is that my trust in Him will increase.
Today I would like us to journey alongside with Yahweh Roi, The Lord is My Shepherd.
DEVOTION
Our God, the one and true living God, is Yahweh Roi, The Lord is My Shepherd. A shepherd is defined as someone who gives guidance to someone else. They guide and direct in a particular direction. The Lord as our Shepherd intends to guide our every step towards Him.
The goal: His glory.
The purpose: That no one would be lost.
The result: Eternal life through and with Jesus Christ.
If we ever find ourselves on the wrong path, because we have the love of our Shepherd, He will guide us in all things. His loving and protective watchful hand is always within reach to steer us back into the fold.
When the road appears easy, we must find ourselves never forgetting that we are not traveling alone. We are not capable of bringing about the good things that occur. It is the protection of our great Shepherd that sustains us and brings us into those places of Victory. When the way seems easy, we may become susceptible to forgetting that Yahweh Roi, the Lord is our Shepherd, is even there. Our level of comfort can be misleading and can on occasion cause us to lose our connection to the One who is our source for everything. Our focus becomes disrupted.
We may even find ourselves, as sheep, wandering off the path of righteousness. But Great News awaits us! Our Shepherd is there to keep us from straying, if we will turn and follow Him. When we hear His voice, His call that draws us near, He safeguards us and changes the course of our mind and our heart, keeping us from desiring things that are not like Him. In Yahweh Roi, we have all that we need.
Someone might say, “Hey! I’ve heard all of this before. But I don’t see any change in my life. What you are saying sounds good, but if He has all that I need, why is my heart still broken? Why am I struggling in my relationships? Why is my wayward child not lining up to God’s will? Why is this financial stress getting the best of me?”
These are all valid questions.
For me, if I may share, what it comes down to is trust in God. I’ve tried different paths, and have put my trust in various things, but the end result has still been the same. I saw no change and I was left with disappointment. When I go it alone, I have no one to turn to for strength. I exhaust myself in trying to find resolutions for my problems.
Have you perhaps exhausted yourself trying to find resolutions for your problems? Why not try God? There is nothing to lose.
Know that we can safely place our hope in Him. We can make a decision to put our faith in God and remember that everything in life is a process. We don’t hope in what we want to happen, but we hope in the God who knows what is best, because He has the end in view. He has the full picture. Every unanswered question in our minds, He already knows the solution and the way to get us there. Does it always feel good or look good while we are going through the process? No! It does not. But, we trust in the Word of God. It all does work together for good.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
ROMANS 8:28 NLT
First, we make a decision of our own free will to give God our heart and work each day to build an intimate relationship with Him. We do that by communing with Him (simply talking to Him) through prayer, and we listen to hear what He tells our heart. What God places within our heart, when it aligns with His Word, which means that we are reading and studying the Bible and praying for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, then we will know that we truly heard His voice and can follow Yahweh Roi, the Lord is my Shepherd. He never leads us astray.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
JOHN 10:27-30 NLT
Why should we travel life blindly with no hope and no direction when Yahweh Roi, the Lord is My Shepherd offers us a guided tour. He will help us to avoid the road blocks and the detours. He will make sure that we are not traveling down the wrong side of the road or down a one-way street, the wrong way.
For me, it is realizing that my faith is built one day at a time. I, one-by-one, am able to release the weights to the God who does the impossible. He knows best; therefore, when I don’t get my way, Yahweh Roi, the Lord is my Shepherd is guiding me in the direction that will ultimately bring Him glory for His greater purpose. When I let go of my will, the way becomes easier.
We are to remember that it’s not about us. Our lives quite possibly are being developed and will be used as a testimony to others, because God knows that once we finish the process, there are those that only we can reach. Without the test, we would have nothing to share with others. If everything always went our way, we would never turn to Him. We would be pumped up in our own strength to accomplish things and would fail to give Him the glory He is due.
Regardless of how many happy days we have here, we know that we have a hope for the future, eternal life. We all suffer, but to suffer for Christ’s sake means it is not all in vain. We have true hope. We have joy and when we don’t actually feel the joy, we are to count it as such.
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
JAMES 1:2-8 NLT
With all that I have endured over the past 7 years of my life, it was hard to say the least. This post may even find you in a season of hard times. If I may encourage you, know that I am still in the process, but I made a choice and that choice was to keep my eyes on God and to trust that He has a plan. Although the agony sometimes has been heavy, I had to simply decide to trust that every step forward, every day with Him, would ultimately result in all things working together for good. Every day is not good, but every day without Christ, is ultimately worse. Although life without Him may present itself as being better, my soul would be eternally lost. With anything in life, it is important to plan for the future. That includes the future of our soul.
I don’t always walk this walk perfectly and always wake up each day jumping for joy, but I have Yahweh Roi, the Lord is my Shepherd who provides the comfort that I need. When my soul becomes weary or I feel down looking at what is before me, I can choose to refocus and God renews my strength.
In every earthly relationship where we choose to give someone our heart, it comes down to trust and communication. We take the chance of being hurt and disappointed. If we are willing to take that chance with “man”, why not give God our heart. He loves us beyond how anyone else can love us. He has our best interest in mind at all times. He never does anything to hurt us, but we can’t be so quick to jump ship when things do not turn out as planned. When we give Him time and allow Him to work His will in and through us, life with Him is better than life without Him. With Him we are guaranteed eternal life. Being with Christ does not eliminate the results of life. We are in this world. But because we have Him, we have a guide along the right path. It’s a choice and one I am willing to stick with so that I will see what the end is going to be.
You are more than enough. I am more than enough. So let’s not look back. Let us finish the process.
Sometimes we desire to hear, “How do I even go about doing this? Why should I do this?” I pray that at least one heart is being touched, and that one soul is being refreshed and renewed. He never said it would be easy, but we can win the spiritual battle for our souls. We must press through and keep the end in mind. There is a purpose for it all. We cannot analyze everything based on what we see with our natural eyes and say, “Well if this isn’t working, why should I keep seeking God?” We instead must trust in the One who created us and believe that His way will bring about His desired will. We can become comfortable in uncomfortable situations because we have the comforter as our counselor, mentor, and friend. Why not open up our hearts willingly and give Him a try. He has all that we need. Who knows what we need? He does.
Now back to our regularly scheduled post. God seems to want to interrupt our regular life, our plans, with His own.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
PSALMS 23:1-3 NLT
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My Faith Expressions 
Very nice