When God seems cruel and uncaring

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” (Psalm 23:1-3)

Psalm 23 is probably the most widely read and beloved of all the Psalms. Its picture of God as a tender, gentle, and loving shepherd who cares for us like sheep evokes images of peace and rest. But anyone who knows what actually goes into caring for sheep – and by way of comparison what it takes for God to “guide us in paths of righteousness” – realizes that a shepherd’s care is not all gentleness and peace, green pastures and quiet waters.

Elisabeth Elliot, the prominent Christian writer and speaker who died recently, tells of visiting friends of hers in northern Wales who owned a sheep farm. She shared about how the sheep are vulnerable to being eaten to death by insects and parasites, and so once every year, the shepherd has to take his sheep to a huge vat of antiseptic and completely submerge his sheep. The farmer, in order to save his sheep from death, has to actually hold his sheep underwater in the antiseptic until they have been disinfected. As Elliot put it:

One by one John seized the animals. They would struggle to climb out the side and Mack the sheep dog would snarl and snap at their faces to force them back under. When they tried to climb up the ramp in a panicky way at the far end, John the farmer would catch them, spin them around, force them under again, holding them ears, eyes and nose submerged for a few seconds.

And as their lord and master was pushing their head under, drowning them at least as far as they could tell, their panicky little eyes would look up over the edge of the vat, and it was easy to see what they were thinking. What is god doing?

Reflecting on that experience, Elliot continued:

I've had some experiences in my life which have made me feel very sympathetic to those poor sheep. There are times I couldn't figure out any reason for the treatment I was getting from my great shepherd whom I trusted. And like these sheep I didn't have a hint of an explanation.

The Lord is my shepherd, indeed!

How is a sheep to know that what feels like death at the hands of their master is really saving its life? The sheep can not understand the ways of the shepherd. Given the choice, they would likely run far away from their master, rather than go into the vat. But only the shepherd knows that this harsh treatment is necessary for saving their life.

Listen to what God says to His people in Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Listening to Elisabeth Elliot’s story, we can understand how a sheep would not understand that his master, while seeming cruel, is actually saving his life by ridding him of insects and parasites. Perhaps this story may help you to trust your Lord and Master, who has a perspective on your life that far surpasses your own limited view of the world. As your loving God, your good shepherd, seeks to rid you of the sin and evil in your life and purify you, I pray that you might have the ability to trust in His sovereign love and care for you, even when His ways seem so very painful and inscrutable to you.