Path of Peace: Devotions That Calm the Soul

FRIDAY, 25 JULY 2025

 

TEXT: PSALM 23:1-6

 

1: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

 

2: He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

 

3: he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

 

4: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

 

5: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

 

6: Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

(New International Version Holy Bible)

 

TOPIC: THE LORD IS MY FULANI

 

The Fulani are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists whose primary occupation is raising livestock or shepherding animals.

 

In a Sunday school class, a nine-year-old boy was asked to recite Psalm 23.

 

He stood up and confidently said: “The Lord is my Fulani, I shall not want...”

 

This may sound funny but the child's understanding of the relationship between the Fulani herdsman and his herd is very strong.

 

A typical Fulani herdsman can sacrifice his life and his family for his animals.

 

In Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen have killed thousands of people who refused to allow them graze their cattle on their farms.

 

In the ancient near east, the king was often called the shepherd of his people and in the Old Testament, the king and the Lord are sometimes spoken of as shepherding an entire nation (Numbers 27:17, 2 Chronicles 17:6 Jeremiah 31:10).

 

The Psalmist envisioned himself as a sheep and God as his shepherd.

 

The Lord who had been the shepherd of Israel in the desert for forty years is also your shepherd (John 10:11).

 

QUESTION: Who is your Fulani?

 

PRAYER: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Yes, Amen.

Remain Blessed     

ECWA Food For The Day, 2025.