The Good Shepherd’s Peace

He leads me beside quiet waters; he restores my soul.

Psalm 38:4-6My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sin folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.

Romans 3:23-24For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.

Emotion #1 – Guilt

Before we commit a sin, Satan minimizes the sin.

Emotion #1 – Guilt

After we commit a sin,

Satan maximizes the sin.

-Colossians 2:13-14

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

Emotion #2 – Grief

1. Dedicate it to God.

2 Samuel 12:19David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

2 Samuel 12:20aThen David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.

Emotion #2 – Grief

1. Dedicate it to God.2. Accept what cannot be changed.

2 Samuel 12:21His servants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

2 Samuel 12:22He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’

2 Samuel 12:23But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.

Emotion #2 – Grief

1. Dedicate it to God.2. Accept what cannot be changed.3. Focus on what is left.

2 Samuel 12:24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon.

Emotion #3 – Grudges

“Bitterness is blindness.”

Job 5:2-3Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple. I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

Ephesians 4:31-32Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

A Downcast Sheep…

The Good Shepherd’s Peace