“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4b NKJ
I want us to embrace the truth that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and that He knows how to guide us through life safely so we do not go astray or become entangled in the thickets of life. A shepherd’s staff is a unique tool that the shepherd uses to care for his sheep. It represents the love, intimacy, compassion, direction, and understanding of the shepherd towards his sheep. Our intimacy and direction comes from the Holy Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit who represents our Good Shepherd’s staff. For it is through the Holy Spirit that we have communication and relationship with our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and it is by the leading of the Holy Spirit that we are directed on the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
In the natural the shepherd used the staff to gather the sheep into the fold. He used it to return a lamb that got separated from its mother. The lamb knows the mother’s scent and the mother knows the scent of her lamb, and if he used his hand it could make the mother reject the lamb. When leading the sheep along dangerous cliffs the shepherd used it to draw a sheep back that came too close to the edge. If a sheep wandered off and became entangled in a thicket, he used it to pull the sheep to safety. He would then gently place the staff on the sheep’s back and guide it back to the flock after it went astray. When herding the sheep into a pen he used it to guide them through the narrow gate. And finally when the shepherd needed to rest he oftentimes would lean on the staff.
Our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, uses the staff (Holy Spirit) in the same way in our lives. He himself was filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism and it was after that when He began His ministry. First being led into the desert where He encountered the devil and faced temptation, to preaching the Word and performing miracles, signs, and wonders. So many people think that Jesus did all He did because He was God. In Philippians 2:7 Paul reminds us that He became a man and in Hebrews 5 the writer says that He learned obedience through the things that He suffered. In other words He humbled Himself to the authority and leading of the Holy Spirit to follow the commands of His Shepherd (God His Father), so that He could complete His work on earth before returning to Heaven after the Cross.
Remember that He walked out everything we must walk out and He gave us the example to follow in how to accomplish our ministry on earth. So think about how He uses the staff (Holy Spirit) to lead and guide us. As the shepherd uses the staff to draw the sheep into the fold, so God draws us to Himself by His Spirit. (John 6:44) We are all separated from God at birth due to the fall of man. When Jesus draws us to Himself with the staff (Holy Spirit) it is the Holy Spirit who testifies of Jesus being the one true God. (John 15:26) His testimony gives us the assurance that He is not counterfeit.
As the shepherd uses the staff to lead the sheep in the way they should go, so our Good Shepherd uses the staff (Holy Spirit) to lead us in the way we should go too. (Acts 8:29, Acts 11:12) When the sheep gets close to going where they should not go, he uses the staff to stop them and draws them back to the flock; so the Spirit is given to warn us of danger and draw us back as well. When we listen we will walk safely to our next destination. (Acts 16:6-10, Galatians 5:16) The sheep followed the leading of the shepherd and were driven to green pastures and still waters. So our Good Shepherd leads us with His staff (Holy Spirit) and we are filled with hope that green pastures and still waters await us at our destination. (Romans 15:13)
When the sheep got entangled in a thicket the shepherd used the staff to pull them out because on their own they would only become even more entangled. Something that is so important for us to understand about our Good Shepherd is that when we get entangled in life’s thickets, He does not stand there and condemn us for getting ourselves in it. He doesn’t tell us to get out of it ourselves for He knows trying in our own strength will only cause us to become more entangled. We must remind ourselves that we are in Him and through His Spirit He draws us out! (John 15:1-8) Don’t be as those who are stiff-necked or hard hearted and resist Him! (Acts 7:51, Hebrews 3:7-15) It doesn’t matter what kind of thicket you find yourself in, He is there to rescue you! Then He uses His staff (Holy Spirit) to gently guide you back to the flock. (Romans 8:26, John 14:16-17, John 14:26)
As the shepherd used the staff to lead his sheep through the narrow gate into the safety of the pen, so our Good Shepherd uses His staff to lead us as well. When we follow His leading we will not be tricked into following false shepherds. (Matthew 7:7-29) And as the shepherd rested on the staff, so we are to rest on our Good Shepherd so we do not become weary on our journey. (Matthew 11:28-30) I want us to meditate on the purpose of the Holy Spirit so we understand our Good Shepherd’s leading. If we will do this then we will know how to stay centered on the paths of righteousness that our Good Shepherd leads us on. For it is neither by might nor power but by His Spirit where we find strength to walk on this journey called life, and it is in this understanding where we find comfort in the staff of our Good Shepherd.
Prayer: May I come to fully understand the purpose of the Holy Spirit in my life. I believe by faith that as I follow Your leading by the operation of the Holy Spirit within me, I will stay centered on the paths of righteousness you lead me on. As I come to understand Your love, compassion, and intimacy, I know I will discern the direction I am to go in life. When I am caught in a thicket I will not struggle in my own strength to get out. I will allow Your Spirit to rescue me and guide me back into the flock. I praise You for loving me and for being my Good Shepherd! Amen
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