Do You Fear Abuse from God?

November 6, 2014

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me (allows and enables ) to lie down in green pastures and leads me by quiet waters (from Psalm 23:1-2).

You’ve probably heard Psalm 23 more times than you can count. It’s a beautiful picture of peace and protection.

This Psalm explains the shepherd-sheep relationship from the sheep’s perspective.

All we like sheep have gone astray, and each has turned to his own way (from Isaiah 53:6). Could this be an illustration of . . . us?

You see, domestic sheep are not all that bright. Not particularly brave. Certainly not coordinated. And they don’t have much in the way of defensive weapons.

Did you know that if a sheep falls into a narrow ditch on his back, he can’t get out? He doesn’t have the flexibility or strength to extricate himself—and it doesn’t matter if he fell in because of his own actions, or if another sheep pushed him (poetic license, here!). He’s stuck and has to wait for the shepherd to help. And if the ditch fills with water, that poor sheep has had it. His fleece will weigh him down with all the water clinging to it.

Kind of like us. Our fear, pain, and sin cling to us, making us vulnerable to the waves of adversity and attack.

“Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (verse 4). How could a rod be comforting? Shepherds do not beat the sheep they take care of. The rod, a long straight stick, is used to tap the sheep to show them the way to go. It’s used like a horse’s reins. It’s for guidance, not punishment.
The staff is the thing that looks like a cane. The hook on the end is used to pull sheep from precarious positions, like the poor creature in the ditch.

The shepherd’s equipment is intended to protect the sheep from getting lost, from predators, from their own stupidity.

And that’s how God trains us, His sheep. Though the comparison may not seem flattering, Scripture says that we are His people and the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 95:7). God directs us and guides us. He shows us the way we should go and keeps us safe in it.

God is not an abuser.

This is part 23 of a series on abuse recovery

Part 1| Am I Alone in my Pain?