The Lord is My Shepherd Forever, Andy Chang

Since I came to meet with the local church in Cerritos some 15 years ago, I have had a gradual increasing realization that I have had someone tending to me and leading me every step of the way. I began as a sheep enjoying the green pastures, continued as a small lost sheep in the midst of wolves, and now I have been recovered back to the flock under the tending and continual shepherding of my Great Shepherd.

Beginning in the 7^th grade, I found a place where I could go every weekend to meet with kids my age and have a good time, whether it was singing hymns in the meeting, or playing basketball before and after the meeting. As a baby sheep I didn't know anything but to remain in the green pastures of the local church and simply eat and enjoy what was given to me. As my brother and I continued in our junior high and high school years in the church we continued to enjoy not only the outward matter of having a place to go and have fun, but in addition we enjoyed a sweet dispensing of spiritual food from our Shepherd among the rest of the flock. It was a time of getting to know the Lord Jesus, not in a complicated doctrinal way, but rather in an intimate and personal way. I simply spent time with my Shepherd. This was a real solid foundation for my preservation.

After some growth in life and maturity, I was ushered into the next stage of my life: my college years. It was at the University of California at Los Angeles where my apparent growth in life and maturity began to be exposed under the shining of the Lord. Now that I was on my own, I began to enjoy an independence from family and the local church that I had eagerly anticipated. However, once I detach myself from the rest of the flock, I found myself as delicious prey in the midst of wolves. Although, there was a local church in Los Angeles, my heart and personal preference was with the church I grew up in. As a result I went back every weekend to Cerritos to help out with the young people I grew up, as well as attend the Lord's Day meeting. This was seemingly good, but during the week I had no green pasture to feed from to preserve me and sustain me. I therefore found myself being enticed with the things of the world around me, leading me away from the love and leading of my Shepherd. Not only was I led to do things that got me into a lot of trouble, but my love for the Lord Jesus began to wane.

Upon graduating from college I found myself entering into the work force with no sense of purpose but to make money and establish myself in my work. I began working for a bank, commuting two hours a day from Cerritos to downtown Los Angeles. With newfound money in my pocket, I proceeded to buy things and do things I had always wanted. However, after only three years of the same mundane routine--traffic, work, traffic, watch TV, sleep--I began to feel a real spiraling emptiness within me. Even though I was still serving with the young people in Cerritos, my Christian life simply became a weekend activity. There was no feeding and therefore no rest. I was truly in the shadow of a valley of death. But Hallelujah! I began to realize that the Shepherd's love was still with me in this valley. He began to slowly strip the wolves off me and led me to His table to feast and into the Father's house. In the Father's (God's) house within the local churches I found a rich feast in the ministry, which has caused me to wake up and allow Christ to shine on me (Ephesians 5:14). Now I simply partake of and enjoy the rich feast that is set before me.

Looking back at my time in the local churches, I realize, that I'm not here to be a super spiritual Christian, but a normal functioning member in the church, which is His Body (Ephesians 1:22-23). I am here to simply be headed up by my Shepherd who makes me lie down and leads me to waters of rest. While I do realize that I am still a little sheep, I also have the assurance that as long as I set my will to follow the Lord as my Shepherd forever I will find peace and rest for the length of my days.