The following article is an excerpt from the book Jesus Now by Frank Viola Author
Encouragement
He restores my soul …
Like humans, sheep can feel cast down, discouraged, and dejected. A sheep that is “cast down” on its back will eventually die if someone doesn’t put it back on its feet. It is the shepherd’s job to keep count of the sheep in the flock, for if one is missing, it could very well be cast down somewhere.
If it’s a hot day, a downcast sheep could die within hours if it isn’t put back on its feet.
When the Lord’s true sheep are cast down, either because of falling, failure, or frustration, the Lord doesn’t abandon ship and leave them to die. No. He instead comes alongside them to put them back on their feet. He is the restorer of their souls.
A sheep that has too much wool can easily fall. Trying to serve the Lord in our own strength and power eventually leads to being cast down. Either we stumble and fall, or we become frustrated and burned out.
In the Bible, wool speaks of self-effort. For this reason, the priests in the Old Testament couldn’t wear wool. Meaning, they couldn’t sweat. They instead wore linen, which prevented them from sweating.
Fat sheep also are in danger of falling over. Consequently, the self-indulgent Christian who doesn’t deny himself or herself is in danger of being cast down.
In either case, Jesus, our great shepherd, is present to pick us back up and put us on our feet. We simply have to be willing to let Him do His work of restoration.
Guidance
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake …
Sheep are habitual creatures. They will do the same thing the same way regardless of the consequences. For example, they’ll graze from the same plot of grass until the ground is desolate. Consequently, the shepherd must keep his sheep moving. This includes guiding them to different pastures from time to time.
Moving sheep takes a great deal of time and attention. Left to their own devices, sheep will wreck a piece of land. So they have to be prodded and led to different pastures. Sheep are not only stupid. They are stubborn. Isaiah 53:6 captures this characteristic:
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way.
Jesus, our good shepherd, leads us into His paths lest we ruin ourselves and others. He will lead us into new territory if we but submit ourselves to His guidance, preferring it over our own independent ideas.
In addition, a good shepherd will never take a sheep where he hasn’t gone himself. So too, when the Lord Jesus Christ leads us by His Spirit, He essentially causes us to relive His own life. That would include death to self (crucified with Him), living by His life (raised with Him), and our victory over the forces of darkness (seated with Him in heavenly places).
Christ is our forerunner and trailblazer, always going ahead of us.
Where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (Heb. 6:20)