BEING SHEPHERDED BY GOD
“Meanwhile, the people of Israel settled in the region of Goshen in Egypt. There they acquired property, and they were fruitful, and their population grew rapidly.”
Genesis 47:27 (NLT)
Covenant children prosper, blossom, wherever God instructed them to go (Genesis 46:2-4).
If you are in a partnership with God, all things will work for your good, even what the enemy meant for evil (Romans 8:28).
The Israelites settled at Goshen in Egypt, they began to prosper there, and their population grew rapidly because God’s presence was with them (Genesis 47;27).
Where you are does not matter, as a covenant child, what does matter is if God has truly sent you to the place, and whether His presence is with you there.
The reason why the people of Israel prospered in the strange land, Goshen in Egypt, is because God told Jacob to go:
2 THEN GOD SPOKE TO ISRAEL IN THE VISIONS OF THE NIGHT, AND SAID, “JACOB, JACOB!” AND HE SAID, “HERE I AM.” 3 SO HE SAID, “I AM GOD, THE GOD OF YOUR FATHER; DO NOT FEAR TO GO DOWN TO EGYPT, FOR I WILL MAKE OF YOU A GREAT NATION THERE. 4 I WILL GO DOWN WITH YOU TO EGYPT . . . .” (Genesis 46:2-4 NKJV).
Jacob in his walk with God had series of encounter with this God (Genesis 28:10-17; 31:11-13; 32:24-30).
It was through the encounters he said the God who has been my Shepherd:
15 THE GOD BEFORE WHOM MY FATHERS ABRAHAM AND ISAAC WALKED [in faithful obedience], THE GOD WHO HAS BEEN MY SHEPHERD [leading and caring for me] ALL MY LIFE TO THIS DAY, 16 THE ANGEL [that is, the Lord Himself] WHO HAS REDEEMED ME [continually] from all evil . . . ” (Genesis 48:15,16 Amp). READ: Psalm 23:1
If I may ask:
• Has this God been your Shepherd?
• Are you walking before this God?
• Has God been leading you in all your affairs?
Without a personal encounter with God, you may not be deep in Him, that is, in your relationship with Him (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8; 2 Corinthians 12:1-4).
Endeavour to go beyond church attendance in your walk with God, in order to have encounters with Him: “THEREFORE . . . LET US GO ON TO PERFECTION [maturity] . . . ” (Hebrews 6:1 NKJV).
God wants your name to be added to the list of those who walked with Him and cut a covenant with Him: “THUS YOU SHALL SAY TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: ‘THE LORD GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB . . . . ” (Exodus 3:15 NKJV).
The people of Israel prospered in the land of Goshen in Egypt because the LORD was their God and He was with them.
The God of heaven will cut a covenant with you also through your obedience to His commands. When you allow Him to shepherd you.
God of their fathers became their God because they walked with Him.
You also should endeavour to know this God personally and intimately. You should go beyond your father’s faith. Isaac serves God, relates with God personally, he knew this God experientially. He did not serve God to please his father, Abraham. He had a personal encounter with God, he understood Him and walked with Him intimately, likewise Jacob.
Note:
• Your parent’s faith is not enough. Thus, you need to experience this God by yourself. Your parents' faith can only take you for a while, it cannot take you through the journey of life. God will expect you to know Him personally and intimately.
• Your spouse’s faith is also not enough, you should know this God personally.
• Do not serve God because you want to please someone—parents, spouse, family, friends or whoever.
You need to develop personal faith in this God.
• You establish a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, by accepting Him as your personal Lord and Saviour (John 14:6,9; Romans 4:25; 10:9-11).
• And having Jesus in your life gives you access to God, the throne of grace (John 14:6; Hebrews 4:15,16).
• Let your focus be shifted from man, whoever you are trusting, and your focus be on God to meet your needs (Hebrews 12:2).
• God is closer to you than you think, He lives on the inside of you in the person of the Holy Spirit—if you are born-again (Deuteronomy 30:14; Romans 29:6-10).
• What bothers your heart should be communicated to God in prayer (John 16:23). Thus, stop seeing man as your help, let your focus be on God; He is the present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
• If you take a step to seek God, to know Him intimately, He will reveal Himself to you, to meet your needs (Romans 10:11-13).
As you experience God’s faithfulness, your faith in Him becomes stronger and your trust in Him gets deeper.
If you continue in your fellowship with God, that is, sharing your needs and bothersome matters with Him; you will begin to climb higher in the ladder of faith.
God is waiting to build a strong, and lasting relationship and fellowship with you, if you would allow Him to shepherd you as He did shepherd Abraham, Issac and Jacob.
You will not want (Psalm 23:1), that is, you will not lack and He will lead you, care for you, throughout all your life time (Genesis 48:15).
1 THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD; I SHALL NOT WANT.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He LEADS me beside the STILL WATERS [water of rest].
3 HE RESTORES MY SOUL; HE LEADS ME IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE.”
Psalm 23:1-3 (NKJV)
You will not fail in Jesus’ name. Peace!