Still Learning to Trust
Psalm 23:1
“The Lord is my shepherd,I shall not want.”John 10:14-15 NIV
“I am the good shepherd…”
If Jesus is the Good Shepherd…why is it so hard to actually let Him lead?
I have found the pull to lead my life is often strong—the pull to decide for myself what I should do with my time, my resources, my body—essentially, my life. Why? Because, if I’m honest, I like having control.
And I wonder if, at the center of our struggle to trust God, is a deeper question: Do I really believe that Jesus is good?
Not just good in general—but good toward me. Toward you.
Do I believe He actually intends good for my life?
Maybe you’ve felt that tension too. You want to trust Him—but you struggle to let go.
So we have to ask honestly: Do I trust Jesus? Do I trust that He has good intentions toward me?
Part of the struggle is this: We’re used to being our own shepherd.
We’ve spent years learning how to manage our lives, protect ourselves, and make our own way. Control feels safe. Surrender feels risky.
But in a world full of voices and competing shepherds, David makes a radical declaration:
“THE LORD is my shepherd…”
Not money.
Not status.
Not success.
Yahweh.
David is choosing something here. He’s choosing who gets to lead.
And under Yahweh’s leadership, there is no lack. There is plenty.
We have a propensity to limit God. We think, there can’t be that much to go around. In a prayer, Tim Keller honestly confesses this:
“Lord, if I fed on your love, grace, and truth, I would not be in any want.”— Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller, The Songs of Jesus
But King David writes about a world—a God filled world—where there is plenty. He goes on to write this in verses 2 and 3:
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2–3)
But is life always green pastures and quiet waters?
David is mature enough to admit: no. It’s not always going to feel that way.
It’s why in verse 4 he writes this:
Psalm 23:4
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me;”
David seems to know Yahweh more personally than to know about Him. Maybe it’s the valley’s he’s faced. The moments where he thought it was all over.
But the point is this: The comfort isn’t that valleys disappear. The comfort is that the Shepherd is present.
To follow Jesus is to have a Shepherd who is near.
But it also means we don’t get to set the direction.
It means trusting Him when the path is unclear.
Believing He knows what we need more than we do.
And that’s where it gets hard.
What if He leads somewhere uncomfortable?
What if He asks us to let go of something we want?
What if His timing doesn’t match ours?
This is where we have to remember who we’re following.
To profess to be a Christian would imply that we make Jesus our Shepherd.
And Jesus doesn’t lead to harm—He leads to life.
To rest. To restoration. To something deeper than we could create on our own.
It does not mean we will live a life of safety. But it does mean that life will erupt out of it.
In His own words, this is who Jesus declares Himself to be:
“I am the good shepherd… I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
In a land of many voices and shepherds, this Shepherd can be trusted—because He’s already proven it.
He’s not asking for control to take from you.
He’s inviting you to trust Him because He gave everything for you.
So maybe the question isn’t just:
Why is it hard to let Jesus lead?
Maybe it’s also:
Do I believe He’s actually good enough to follow?
I know my answer, but it’s worth wrestling with it. Because wherever your answer lands…it will shape everything.
