Everyone has to walk through dark valleys in life. It's unavoidable. The good news for the believer is that they don't have to walk through those valleys alone. Knowing that the Good Shepherd is near gives us confidence in spite of the valley.

Not only does our Shepherd give us contentment and peace, but He also offers us purpose in life.

When the disciples began to argue about who would be the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus told them that they had everything backwards and upside down. If you want to be the greatest, you have to serve everyone. In John 13, Jesus gave a living illustration of what it means to serve.

Most people think that peace is the absence of conflict in their lives, but real peace goes well beyond our comfort and convenience. The greatest peace of all is the peace we find as we walk with our Great Shepherd, and it's a peace that holds even in the midst of the worst storms of life.

When people persist in unbelief, it can lead to a hardened heart.

Our human appetite for more can create a greedy spirit within us. However, when we realize that the Good Shepherd is looking after us and supplying all our needs, we learn to live in contentment.