Our family enjoyed raising Jacob sheep for several years. We no longer raise them, but we do still have two very old (and sweet) ewes.
One day I looked out to see a dog chasing our sheep. This was an all-to-familiar problem, too often leading to the death of one of the herd! I went running and hollering at the dog. The dog stood his ground, but the sheep came running to me when they saw and heard me. The poor things were scared to death! That dog was still out there in the pasture though, so I started walking closer to the dog, trying to get it to go home. At some point I realized my sheep were following right behind me! They followed even though I was walking toward their danger, they kept following right behind me. No matter how close they were to the object of their fears, they stayed close and kept following me. I was amazed at their faith and trust in me. They trusted me to protect them more than they feared the danger ahead of them!
I’m not a good shepherd and honestly have not earned that kind of trust, but God IS the good Shepherd and He has earned our trust over and over! That day my sheep taught me some valuable lessons. They taught me to stop running and/or fighting the enemy in my own strength. I need my Shepherd to fight for me and to take care of me… And He will!
I was also reminded of the importance of staying close to God. Psalms 73:21-28 has been a lifeline passage for me the last several years. I love verse 28, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good!” My sheep reminded that I can face all circumstances, as long as I’m close to my Shepherd! There will be times that we’re being led into places that may not “feel” safe. We will find ourselves in seasons that don’t feel safe to us at all. Seasons that include dealing with sickness, rejection, money trials, losing precious loved ones. During these and all the seasons of this life, we must lean into our only hope…our faithful, loving Shepherd who’s always with us, fighting for us, not against us. He’s faithful to lead us through all the different seasons of this life, in His nearness as our good!
My dear friend…
Chris is a wife to Dave, a mom of four daughters and a grammy of ten grandkids (plus six extras that also call her their grammy). She and her husband live on a small farm in Saginaw, Missouri, where they have a few chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, donkeys and dogs. She shares how thankful she is for a God-loving grandma who beautifully modeled what it looks like to love Jesus with all her heart, which became Chris’ desire, too, and to pour out her love on others.
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