Sleep, Sheep, and the Good Shepherd
By Tenielle Neda
Photo by Daniel Morton on Unsplash
I was sitting at the dining table one morning in August 2023, after another sleepless night, spoon feeding my 12 month old baby girl as she sat in her high chair. Weary and worn out after months of sleep deprivation and doing life with three little, somewhat spicy, humans under six - I turned to the Psalms seeking refreshment for my tired heart (not that I could read well through my puffy, blow fish eyes). I had read the words of Psalm 23 many times, but this morning, in God’s kindness and in my desperate need, they had a particular effect on my heart.
Being a songwriter, singing is sometimes how I pray and process things, it’s how I feel close to God and worship Him. Thus, I began to sing the words of Psalm 23 into my iPhone voice memos. What came out became the song “The Lord is My Shepherd.” It came as a prayer from the overflow of my heart - a heart longing for and reveling in the tender fatherly, love and goodness of God. In spite of feeling as though I had nothing to give – precisely, because I had nothing left to give, his loving care was so sweet, pertinent and real to me. Such is his love and kindness that he doesn’t crush us in our inadequacies, or ask us to harden up or belittle our suffering. Instead, he lavishes his grace and love on us. I was humbled by the nature and character of God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, in light of God’s wonderful revelation, I was able to perceive and experience this profound love in my heart and it was like a balm to my aching soul.
Upon reflection, what is most profound about the comfort I felt, is that it is a window into the very comfort that Christ received from his heavenly Father who shepherded him through his earthly life. That just as the Father shepherded his only begotten son, so the son now shepherds us - for Christ is surely our good and kind Shepherd, who protects, cares and knows what is best for his sheep. My experience testified to me that there is no valley so deep or dark that Christ can’t meet me there, as he did that morning through his Word. The sad reality of this life is that one day we will all pass through our deepest valley, the valley of our death, yet we can know that even in that valley we are not alone, for we have already passed from death to life in Christ. What a wonderful and sufficient Shepherd we have in Him.
What makes Christ the perfect shepherd, is that he was and is the perfect, spotless lamb of God. He is the sacrificial lamb, and thus able to truly empathise and identify with us in our weakness and suffering. Not all of us have present or perfect earthly fathers (the latter would be impossible). But our heavenly Father will never leave us or forsake us. In fact, he forsook his one and only son, so that we don’t ever have to be forsaken. In this way, Jesus knows intimately and truly what it is like to be a lamb - one that faced death alone (in anguish), so we would never have to face death alone, without a Shepherd.
He is also the triumphant lamb on the throne we read about in Revelation and one glorious day Christ will shepherd us into the kingdom of heaven, where his throne knows no end, and we will know and experience the fullness of his goodness, mercy and love. Now, this is profound: The Lord God our Shepherd (YHWH - God the Father), is the Lord who provided the Good Shepherd (Jesus - God the Son), who became the lamb of God for his sheep. For me, and for all who would repent, believe and call on his name. Do you know this Good Shepherd? The one who laid down his life for his sheep, only to take it up again? I don’t want to face this life without him, and I rejoice that I can sing the words with confident hope and assurance: “I’ll see the goodness of God when he carries me home”.
When I woke that bleary-eyed morning, that is what I needed to see, what I needed to revel in, what God, by his Spirit, revealed to my heart and mind. He told me I wasn’t alone, that he saw me, loved me, and was with me. He had gone before me, he would walk beside me, and he would carry me home. While I still felt tired and sleep deprived, and while I still have fears of the future, this makes all the difference. He makes all the difference. I pray this song serves as a reminder, and a prayer, as it did for me, that we can rest in and bask in the joy of his lavish mercy, his abundant grace, and unending love. We can trust his tender, abiding, gracious care. Even if/when we can’t get enough of that elusive shut-eye.
“The Lord is My Shepherd”
By Tenielle Neda
The Lord is my Shepherd
And I shall not want
He maketh me strong
Though I am weak
The Lord is my comfort
Oh he is my peace
He is my song
When I cannot speak
When I’m in the valley,
I will not fear.
For you are near,
To you I shall go.
Into the flowing waters of love
Into the streams of mercy that flow from above
Into the grace that surpasses all we can know
Into the Fathers arms that will carry us home
The Lord is my counselor
Oh he is my King
For he is robed,
In majesty
His throne knows no end,
And he will redeem.
All of creation,
Will soon be set free!
Into the flowing waters of love
In the streams of mercy lavished on us
Into a grace that surpasses all we can know
Into the fathers arms that will carry us home
I’ll see the goodness of God when he carries me home
The Lord is my Shepherd
And I shall not want
He maketh me strong
Though I am weak
“The Lord is My Shepherd” comes out April 11th and is the first single from Tenielle Neda’s debut album “The Way of Love” out July 4th. You can listen here or watch the video here.
If you enjoy honest storytelling from local Christian women, sign up for free to get stories like this in your inbox on Wednesdays ❤️
Tenielle Neda—Regular Contributor
Tenielle Neda is a train driver & singer-songwriter from remote Western Australia. She is married to a NZ born camera-man & teacher, Daniel, and they have three precious, young children. Tenielle has studied at Trinity Theological College in Perth, and hopes to continue her theological studies, amidst busy mum life and music creation. She finds that studying God's word - knowing him and loving him more - deeply inspires and informs her songwriting. Her music is an expression of her faith and experience of life through the lens of the gospel. You can follow her music at tenielleneda.com