The Lord's Shepherding

Psalms 23:1

Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing. 

The Lord has been my good Shepherd indeed. He has been shepherding me since time immemorial. Be it when I was single, when I got married, when I became a father, and now even as a father of three children, wherever I was, wherever I am, the Lord is still my good Shepherd. Even the past few weeks as my family had gone to visit our family in Taiwan, the Lord's shepherding still followed us through.

This time especially, the Lord's Shepherding was very practical and real. It can be easily gauged and quantified. Before we took off from New Delhi, the flight delay gave us a pass to enjoy a family buffet meal at a restaurant in the airport. I hardly took my family for a treat and I just got one for free for all.

When we visited Hong Kong on our transit, the brothers shepherded us so well. They took us to places and supplied us richly, much to the satisfaction and enjoyment of my children especially. I personally would not be able to do such to my family, but the Lord knows how to shepherd all of us. 

In Taiwan, wherever we went, whomever we met, the Lord's Shepherding hand followed us all through. Besides the spiritual supply, the Lord supplied us richly through many saints in the form of gifts and offerings. Ranging from food items to clothing, from toys to books, the Lord's love and care was so sweet and cherishing.

The gifts and offerings were so abundant that my wife had to work on it quite a while, packing them to bring them back to India. To me, the physical things were immaterial. What matters to me most was the Lord's presence, His blessings and shepherding. All these gifts and offerings were all from the Lord, they were His blessing us and shepherding us in practical way.

Every time, when the supply came, I told my children to pray and thank the Lord for His shepherding. And I also joined with them in thanksgiving. Praise the Lord for He is the wonderful Shepherd!

Psalms 23:6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of my days.  

Besides all the gifts, the love of the saints in sweet fellowship over lovefeast was beyond mention. I could not keep count how many. The physical food too were so rich, I found it hard to resist the taste of Taiwanese palate; we simply enjoyed the saints' love to the brim.

Above all, I was glad that my children could learn to experience the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who is real and living. On many occasions, my children would pray for "weather control" as we were scheduled for outings at various theme parks. The season being rainy, unstable, and unpredictable, weather control was definitely a must. Only God could do that, and we could only pray to Him. That's what we did. The outdoor parks need a fine weather without rain. In three occasions, the Lord controlled the rain as my children prayed, so that it did not hinder their enjoyment of the facilities, and rain came only when we were indoor for lunch, after which, it stoped for the enjoyment to continue. I took those experiences to let my children know that God does care and answers the simple and pure prayer as theirs. This, I did to inculcate and develop the faith in Christ in them. The Lord indeed shepherded us so well; inwardly and outwardly, spiritually and physically too. Praise the Lord, our good and wonderful Shepherd!