Comfort through the rod and the staff - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4

Comfort through the rod and the staff
In Psalm 23, the relationship of the believer to his Lord is compared to the relationship of a sheep to the shepherd. What the shepherd is and does for the sheep symbolically describes the care of the Lord Jesus for His own.

Today’s verse is about the shepherd’s rod and staff. What are they for and what do they mean?

The rod is a knotted stick in the shepherd’s hand. It serves as a weapon to ward off the attack of wild animals on the flock and to put these enemies to flight. In its spiritual meaning, the rod speaks of the Lord Jesus’ ability to protect His own people from the dangers of the world. He protects them so that they do not become prey to the enemy.

The staff has another function. The shepherd uses it to guide his sheep. If they stray from the right path, he brings them back with the help of his staff. In this way, the Lord Jesus guides the redeemed safely to the right destination, even on perilous roads.
Now perhaps the question arises: How do the rod and the staff comfort us? With the protection of the rod, we are reminded that our Lord is all-powerful and can conquer every enemy. In the guidance of the staff, we realise that our Shepherd is all-knowing and never makes a mistake. Isn’t there great comfort in this?

Today’s reading: Deuteronomy 16:1-17 · Matthew 26:59-75