Choose to live by faith having spiritual and physical health— living love (obedience) unto God.
In reading 1Samuel 17, I began to see why David was a man after God’s own heart. I thank God for His knowledge and understanding. God has given us all we need to know in His Word.
The good shepherd cares for the sheep in the pasture.
The good shepherd brings the sheep water to drink and food to eat at the right, or at the appropriate times. If he were to bring them drink and food off their feeding and drinking times, they would be terribly sick.
The good shepherd watches the sheep to make sure they don’t wonder off. If one does, he leaves all to go look for that one.
The good shepherd does not restrict his sheep, is not strict on the sheep to be mean, etcetera but, the good shepherd loves his flock and seeks their good. He provides for them what is best for them. He keeps them near and close to him to protect them from harm, from death.
God has created a variety of plants from which are our fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, vegetables, herbs—all for our health. He created the best for food for our maintaining good health, that we have life, and have it more abundantly. He gave us water to drink. He has created us on a circadian rhythm.
God made the human body to heal itself by giving us to eat what He created best to aid the body in healing itself, as well as an environment best for us. He blesses all He has made, putting in them to do what He spoke them into existence to do.
God watches over us. He leads us in the way we should go. He guides us with His eye. If we wonder away, He searches us out, letting us experience what we must, experiencing the consequences of our choices that we may turn back to Him. He teaches us through the Holy Ghost as a mother teaches her children. Tough love. Christ is the Good Shepherd.
So too, it is with each of us who belong to God, who are His called and chosen (because we answered His call, we are His chosen). We are each our brother’s and our sister’s keeper. We are watchmen on the wall. We are to tell God’s people their transgressions whether they want to hear, or see them, or not. We are to warn the righteous that they not turn away from righteousness. But, if they choose to, we have warned them and their blood is not on us.
I saw too the commitment of David to those sheep even though he was anointed to be king. He still went back and cared for the sheep. Christ is King and still cares for His (us).
It was shown to me that we are as those sheep. We are to drink and eat at certain times, and to not eat off schedule, allow digestion or we will get terribly sick—whether immediately or not; there is still a consequence to living contrary to God’s instruction (His word). By God’s power, we sleep at the appropriate time, we awake at the appropriate time. God does all things decent and in order. He created our bodies to function in order. There is a time for everything in all our living in the six days; and the seventh we rest, we stop, we cease from our weekly labor, our normal or usual activities, buying and selling, financial, business transactions, school-work, etcetera; and we are focused upon God—not doing our own thing. His seventh day (Sabbath) is holy. The whole day is His. We live for Him, walking before Him, by Him. We are a blessing. We are a living, walking testimony—we are His witnesses that He is God. We are strengthened, encouraged, enlightened, and fully rejuvenated, ready to live by faith, His Spirit through life’s challenges throughout the coming week.
We have peace that passes all understanding. Only God has done this work in the soul.
Maranatha