The Power of God's Names by Tony Evans

Author:Tony Evans [Evans, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736941365
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

8

JEHOVAH ROHI

THE LORD MY SHEPHERD

When I was growing up in urban Baltimore, one of my favorite television programs was Superman. I loved Superman. Superman could turn any dire situation into a heroic rescue with strength and finesse.

As I grew older, Superman’s story was turned into movies. I went to each and every one of them, even as an adult. I remember one particular Superman movie in which a man was trapped in an inferno and Superman swooped in and rescued him from certain death. Later, as he was flying across the sky to take the man home, the man was trembling. Superman asked what was wrong, and the man said, “I’m afraid…I’m way up here, and if I fall, I’m going to die.”

This man’s concern seemed legitimate, but in response Superman asked, “Do you think I have enough power to save you from the fire but not enough power to safely take you home?”

This illustration graphically reflects a similar but more profound truth. Some of us have trusted the Lord to deliver us from the fires of hell, yet we’re not sure He can safely take us home. We believe in Him for eternity, but we don’t have much confidence in Him in history. We know He will take us to heaven, but we’re not sure He’s got our back on earth.

If you’re one of these people, even if you’re too embarrassed to admit it publicly, I want you to know that this next name of God is just for you. We find it in a psalm that has the power to change your life. You undoubtedly know the psalm already, but don’t let your familiarity with it keep you from experiencing its fullest meaning. It begins with “The LORD is my shepherd.”

The name of God translated “LORD” in this verse is Jehovah, “the self-revealing one.” The Hebrew word for “shepherd” is the word rohi or ra’ah, which means “to tend, pasture, shepherd.”

King David wrote the psalm, and as he did so, he probably recounted his years as a shepherd. Long before David became a king, he was a young man who had been put in charge of his father’s sheep. David may have looked over the span of his life, remembered what it meant to tend sheep, and recognized similarities to the way God had tended him over the years. So he used his old job to describe his relationship with God and to give us one of the most beautiful and practical pieces of poetry in Scripture, Psalm 23.

If you live in an urban or suburban area like I do, you’re not likely to encounter a lot of sheep. And you probably haven’t been a shepherd. But everyone knows a shepherd’s job is to take care of the sheep.

People today look to various things to take care of them. Some look to their money. Others look to their power. Others look to relationships. Others to success. Worst of all, far too many people look to themselves to take care of their well-being.

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