Psalm 23:4 says, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

The shepherd’s staff in unique in its shape.  It is a long slender shaft with a hook in the end. It is a tool that is unique to the work of a shepherd. It is designed in such a way that the shepherd can use the long shaft to nudge and guide the sheep into the place they need to be should they begin to wander or go off course. The hook is there for the shepherd to save the sheep from a perilous situation. The shepherd can use the hook to reach out and grab the sheep around the neck and pull it back to safety.

Matthew 18:12,13 says “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.”

The Bible over and over again refers to us as sheep.  Sheep are prone to wander. Even though we mature as we grow in our relationship with God, we are always capable of “wandering.”  It is a blessing from the good shepherd that he reaches down with his staff and pulls us back into the way we should go.

It is then the response of a worshipful heart to give praise and thanks to Him for his guidance. The more we experience the guidance of the Lord in our lives, the more we recognize is staff as a comfort to us.

Give praise today for his staff.

Steve