Isn’t that encouraging? Our Good Shepherd is someone trustworthy enough to follow every single minute of every single day. There’s nothing sweeter than watching Him work out situations in our lives and make a way in the most hopeless set of circumstances. 

When you picture a shepherd, what do you picture? For me, it’s that old familiar illustration that my Sunday School teacher used. You know the one. A beautiful green hillside, blue skies with white, puffy clouds, of course, and a landscape perfectly dotted with scattered sheep. Cute ones! White and fluffy. And then there’s a shepherd standing nearby–in his robe and sandals, and always with a staff in his hand, firmly planted in the ground as he stands authoritatively keeping careful watch over his precious little lambs. I picture the green pastures and quiet waters that Psalm 23 talks about. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” (Psalm 23:1). 

But partially thanks to Mayberry’s song, my vision of Jesus, my Good Shepherd, has evolved a bit. He’s not just standing nearby watching over me (although He does that, too). He’s going out in front, leading me on! Some later lines in the song say: 

Step by step, day by day … Lead me on, Lord I pray … Road gets dark, walk by faith … Lead on, Good Shepherd

And then I took a closer look at John 10:1-30. These verses, about Jesus, our Good Shepherd, might be familiar to you. They remind us that the sheep know the shepherd’s voice and that no one can snatch us out of His hands. When reading John 10:4, one little phrase struck me like it never has before. I’ll add the previous verse here for context.

The watchman opens the gate for [the shepherd], and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. -John 10:3-4

Jesus isn’t just standing around keeping an eye on us so we don’t wander too far off or get attacked by an enemy. He doesn’t bring us out of the pen and then find a comfortable place to camp out while we run around and graze under His watchful eye. When I taught elementary school, during recess, I always found the perfect place to stand–somewhere where I could see all corners of the playground. Every student was within my viewpoint. And while that is a nice, comforting way to think about Jesus, let’s not limit Him. 

He “goes on ahead” of us and leads us where we need to go! Step by step, day by day. My Savior is not sitting in the backseat. He’s not a stationary figure who only monitors my choices and offers help when I need it. (Although, like I said before, His steady, authoritative presence is a gift in itself!) But my Good Shepherd is on the move. He’s making a way, walking me through, and steering me in the right direction. When I fall in behind Jesus, I find peace and stability, no matter what obstacles come my way as I walk through life here on earth. Am I following His lead? Are you? Lead on, Good Shepherd!