Jehovah Rohe - my Shepherd

Isaiah 53:6 says that "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." In contrast, Psalm 23 starts with "The Lord is my Shepherd...".

Indeed, the name Jehovah Rohe, which means the Lord is my Shepherd, brings unfathomable comfort to those who believe in Him. Truly knowing that He is our personal shepherd allows us to completely trust in His leading, and allows us to be fully assured that we are protected and cared for as we follow Him.

I remember years ago the words my mother said to me at her deathbed. She told me that while she was not afraid to die, she would not let go of life until she saw Jesus leading her home. Although she accepted the Lord just a few years before, she had built up a strong relationship with her Shepherd through daily prayer and bible study. She asked me to pray for her to see Him.

As I prayed, I read Psalm 23 to her. What was amazing was that I was reading and praying in English, for which she did not understand (I did not know how to read or pray in Cantonese then), our spirits were all connected with the Holy Spirit. I asked the Lord to either restore her health so that she may recover from her illness and live on, or if it is time for her to be brought home to glory, then lead her personally. Just at that point, she sat up from her bed and said, "It is alright, it is alright. I see Him, I see Him..."

With those last words she gave up her spirit and ended her short pilgrimage in this world, but not before leaving a big and obviously comforted smile on her lifeless face.

As painful as it was for me to lose her, it was a glorious moment. I know for sure that my mother was personally led home by Jehovah Rohe, our Shepherd. That precious moment cut the eternal truth in my mind - that indeed, Jehovah is our Shepherd, we shall not be in want, and even as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death, death itself had lost its sting. Assuredly, the Shepherd provides and protects and leads us. Hallelujah!

Friends, it is my wish that you will allow Jesus to be your Shepherd of life. If you admit that you are a sheep gone astray, Isaiah 56 gives you the hope and assurance that the Shepherd had sacrificed His own life for you. All that is needed is to accept Him as your Savior and Lord, and Shepherd.

Let us who have already believed in Him, now believe in Him fully and let Him lead us as our Shepherd.

Steven