Adonai—Lord and Shepherd

Most of us are familiar with how Psalm 23 starts out. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” The Complete Jewish Bible states it like this. “The Lord Adonai is my shepherd; I have everything I need. ”

Let’s take some time to break down the very beginning of this, by first asking ourselves, what exactly does the Hebrew word Adonai mean that is translated as Lord? It is a master or owner, someone who is sovereign or a supreme ruler, a person with ultimate power or authority.

When our child dies, it is easy to see God as a mean ruler with ultimate power who just does whatever He wants. But Adonai, this Lord and Master, is also our Shepherd, who looks after and takes care of his sheep.  These two things (Lord and Shepherd) may seem to contradict each other.

When Control and Trust Collide

When we became a Christian, it means we should be choosing to allow God to be in the driver’s seat of our life. However, we may have discovered that what we really did was ask God to be in the passenger seat, while we are still the one driving. We allowed Him to get in the cockpit with us, as the copilot, but we still want to keep control by being the pilot. And that is where the contradiction happens.

Following Jesus is not about certainty; it is about trust. It is truly allowing Him to be Lord in our lives without conditions. And trusting God doesn’t always mean understanding Him.

When we don’t understand the whys, we somehow think God owes us an explanation. If you have ever watched the old black and white I Love Lucy shows, it reminds me of when Desie would say in his Spanish accent, “Lucy, you got some ‘splainen’ to do!”

Going Deeper Than the Why

I recently heard an illustration I want to pass on to you. It is the difference between choosing to stay on the surface with feeling like you have to know why, or going deeper with Him in a way that goes beyond the whys.

When you snorkel, you stay on the surface with your little plastic tube. You can’t go deep. If you want to go deep, you have to get a tank.

Staying on the surface is continuing to feel like God owes you an explanation. It is continuing to ask “Why would God do this to me? To us?” This is like snorkeling. We cannot understand the depths of God while staying on the surface. Going deep means you choose to trust God in the horrible circumstance, choosing to believe no matter what your heart or mind tell you, that He IS love, He IS comfort, He IS peace. It is like strapping on that tank, so you can breathe under the water.

When you choose to go deep, you come out the other side knowing God in a way you never did before. You know how wonderful and faithful He really is, and that being both Lord and Shepherd are not a contradiction.

The Roundabout of Grief

Many of us are stuck in a roundabout. We are going round and round and round, fighting with God about things like:

• how unfair the death of our child is
• how God isn’t really good (or He would not have allowed my child to die)
• how I will never be able to be happy again

We will stay stuck, going around in circles like this until we choose to take a turn, and that turn is toward God. This is a turn of surrender. Once we allow God to be the pilot (to be the one driving our lives) and we surrender to being the passenger, receiving His love and care as the Good Shepherd He truly is, we will find ourselves in a much better place, as hope, light, meaning and purpose return to our lives.

It is when we come to Him, humbled and fully surrendered, that we can even begin to hear Him speak to us in a way that we can receive as both our Lord and our Good Shepherd.

The Healing Begins with Surrender

We are all broken. Deeply broken. In fact, I remember feeling so very shattered that I didn’t even think it was possible to find all the pieces, much less have God put them all back together. But as I continued this journey, I began to see and understand that brokenness can be a gift. When we know and admit how broken we are to God, from a place of being vulnerable and no longer fighting Him, we can experience an incredible depth of His love in a way that we did not even know was possible here on this earth. And I am in awe of it.

If you aren’t there yet, that’s okay. It took me quite a while, too. Just know that it is possible, yes, even for you. He really is both Lord, and a Good Shepherd, ready and waiting to love and help bring healing to His deeply wounded sheep. If you have experienced going deep, discovering He is both Lord and a Good Shepherd, please leave a comment, so that others who have not gotten to this place yet can be even more encouraged.

NOTE: This was partially taken from the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast episode 287. Click here to listen to the full discussion, or look for the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast on your favorite listening app.

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AWARD WINNING AUTHOR, LAURA DIEHL, has written several impactful books that provide comfort and guidance to those navigating the painful journey of child loss, after the death of her own daughter in 2011. Her most acclaimed work, When Tragedy Strikes: Rebuilding Your Life with Hope and Healing After the Death of Your Child, has received multiple accolades, including the 2017 Gold Medal Centauri Christian Book Award for Non-Fiction and a Silver Medal in the 2018 Illumination Awards. Several of her other books have won awards as well.

In addition to her writing, Laura is an ordained minister and has an extensive background in international children’s ministry. She is a sought-after speaker and singer at grief conferences and churches, known for her compassionate approach and deep understanding of the grieving process, especially the unique loss of a child. Through her weekly award-winning podcast, her writings, and other resources provided by GPS Hope, Laura and her husband, Dave, continue to provide hope and healing to thousands of parents worldwide, helping them find light in the midst of profound loss and darkness.

For more information about Laura’s award-winning books go to gpshope.org/books.

To find out more about Laura Diehl and the ministry of Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) visit gpshope.org.