The good shepherd (a biblical interlude)

Lately I feel like I've got no forward motion. Like a sailboat on a still and windless sea. Realistically, I actually have PLENTY to be doing - three performances in the next month or so - nothing fancy, but a gig's a gig. I try to do this regularly, but especially in the harder times, all I want to do is press in to the Lord and be in His presence. And He usually shows me what to do. So lately, I've been reading a whole ton in the Bible. Now... look. I know some of the stuff I'm going to say could be old hat, but it's new to me and I revel in it.

For awhile I was reading in John, and of course there's verses 11-12 in chapter 10 that go like this:

I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don't own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock.

Thing about these verses is they mostly tell you, "Jesus loves you as one of his own, and is not going to leave you if something bad happens." Which is GREAT! But I was reading in 1 Samuel (I'm addicted to it right now), and I found this image of David's shepherding prowess which I really liked, and which (I suppose?) gives an image of what shepherding was like back then (before border collies and things). It's Chapter 17 verses 34-35, and David is trying to explain to Saul that he is, in fact, qualified to go after Goliath:

But David told him (Saul): Your Majesty, I take care of my father's sheep. And when one of them is dragged off by a lion or a bear, I go after it and beat the wild animal until it lets the sheep go. If the wild animal turns and attacks me, I grab it by the throat and kill it.

Yeah, you might get snatched up by a lion, but guess what? Jesus is coming for you. Relentlessly, singlemindedly, and fervently. And he's going to beat the crap out of the lion what snatched you away from his Father's flock. WITH HIS BARE HANDS.

Booyah. Take that, Bear Grylls.

This post is relevant to my music? Yep. I just couldn't be a crazy music lady without God and His relentless lion-destroying love for me, and I never was a crazy music lady until He convinced me to start making use of the gifts He gave me. It's a good reminder... that I'm not doing this music thing for myself, really. I'm doing it to give glory to what God has done in me. Not something I want to lose focus of.