One of my greatest joys is Christian discipleship. I get excited every opportunity I have to learn something about the faith that I can apply to my life and I get equally excited about the opportunity to teach something about the faith to followers of Christ. That’s why I love writing this column. Every time God gives me something to share He teaches me as I’m listening to Him on your behalf. This has been the case with my public ministry as well as my private one of discipling women to grow in Christ, particularly with my spiritual daughter Helena.
She is a wife to a minister, a mother of seven and exceptionally naturally and spiritually gifted as a teacher, poet, hair stylist, nail technician, homemaker, prophet and giver of knowledge. Her personality is infectious, one easily moved to laughter and compassion, depending on the flow of the Holy Spirit. She’s so talented that she got me, one who hates traditional showers, to love coming to her baby showers, which are prayer showers, intimate times of showering her and the coming baby with prayers focused on the areas Helena believes God is leading her to give attention to.
So early in December we had a prayer shower for Helena and she asked some of her other spiritual mothers and me to expound upon Psalm 23 and then pray for her to shepherd her children as God shepherds us.
Though one of my parenting verses is Proverbs 27:23, “Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds” (NLT), I had never made a direct correlation to the way I parent to the way God parents us in Psalm 23 until preparing for the shower. And what I uncovered is great for all mothers to rejoice in the goodness of our Savior, who was born to die for us, and to examine how well we are shepherding our children.
I won’t fully expound on the verses in this column but encourage you to meditate on what follows and do an in-depth study for yourself:
“The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want” (v. 1) A shepherd is a 24/7 job. His role is to nourish the flock to help them grow and protect them from predators, helping them to grow from within and guarding them from attacks without. God does this for us and we must do this for our children. Just as we are diligent to know the duties of our job and seek to perform them with excellence, we must endeavor to know our duties as a shepherd so we offer our children everything they need. We set the standard for what they need. Our voice has to be louder than the voice of the world and our love and care have to be so overwhelming that they are convinced that what mother has is just what they need.
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters” (v. 2) In biblical times, the ground was prone to drought so it was sometimes hard for a shepherd to lead the flock to green pastures where they could eat nourishing food. God is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides everything we need. These green pastures represent not only a place where we get physical food but they represent a place of rest. The flock had to drink from still waters because the sound of rushing water would scare the sheep and cause them to run. Sometimes we may be so stressed out that we don’t hug, kiss and otherwise affirm our children and they are too afraid to ask for what they need. If we let the Shepherd in us lead us, then we will not allow our stress to be our guide. We will provide our children with necessities while giving them comfort and no need to fear.
“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake” (v. 3) Even though we may give our best to our children, they will stray, sometimes just a bit and other times a great deal. Either way, just like God restores our soul, we have to bring our children back to a place of stability in their minds, wills and emotions. When we follow the Good Shepherd we will know just what to do—pray, confront, restrict, etc.—to restore our children and lead them where they should go for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (v. 4) Whether outsiders cause our children to be in an intense dark period or their own poor choices got them there, they must know—like we must know with God—that they don’t have to fear ultimate destruction because they have the comfort of knowing that we won’t abandon them but will be there to defend and direct them.
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over” (v. 5) The Shepherd prospers us abundantly in all places. Our blessings will be evident to all, even our enemies. Likewise, we have to anoint our children, allowing the Holy Spirit to use us to fill their lives in all areas so they will prosper abundantly in all areas. Our children can be spiritual and scholarly. They can be physically and emotionally healthy. God will give us the grace to help them produce to the best of their ability in every area of their lives.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (v. 6) God, our Shepherd, will constantly give us good things and withhold the bad we deserve. And when we die, our lives will be even better because we get to spend eternity with God. When we shepherd our children with grace and mercy, we are a great example of the Good Shepherd. Our shepherding should cause our children to want to seek the ultimate Shepherd, knowing what He offers on earth and for eternity is greater than anything we can give.
I thank God for the privilege of walking with Helena for almost seven years and have been pleased how He has used me to develop what He gave her. Our encounters, like the prayer showers, have caused me to grow and given me an opportunity to share another way we can keep the Kingdom first.