Friday, January 31, 2014

January 31, 2014

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:6,7 (NIV) 
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
Psalm 23:2 (NIV) 
The Shepherd knows what pastures are best for his sheep, and they must not question nor doubt, but trustingly follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the best pastures for some of us are to be found in the midst of opposition or of earthly trials. If He leads you there, you may be sure they are green for you, and you will grow and be made strong by feeding there. Perhaps He sees that the best waters for you to walk beside will be raging waves of trouble and sorrow. If this should be the case, He will make them still waters for you, and you must go and lie down beside them, and let them have all their blessed influences upon you.
H. W. SMITH
 When you ask school children what animal they want to be, one gets a wide variety of responses.  Tiger, shark, monkey, eagle, and pandas are some of the response.  But sheep rarely make the list. 

Who wants to be a sheep?  They don't have the best of reputations. 

  •  "It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life."  Elizabeth Kenny
  • "A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep."  Vernon Howard
  • "Never trust sheep."  Ryan Stiles
  • "It never troubles the wolf how many sheep may be."  Virgil
  • People are "fleeced" when they are swindled out of their money.  
  • Being the "black sheep" of the family is not a term of endearment.
  • Sheep are seen as blindly going when they are lead.  "People will be as before, the sheep sent to the slaughterhouses or to the meadows as it pleases the shepherd."  Henri La Fonatine

There is a learned aversion to being a sheep.  So many of us struggle with the concept of complete and utter dependence on someone else.  

Follow like a sheep?!  NEVER!  
Trust someone else completely?  Isn't that foolish?

However, as a Christian that should be our goal.  Just as the sheep depend on the shepherd for all their needs (eg., food, shelter, and protection) we should rely on our Heavenly Shepherd.  The advantage we have over the four-legged sheep is that our Shepherd is perfect in power, wisdom, and love.  

Even though the pastures God leads us to at times may seem rocky, barren, and treacherous, His good will is being worked in our lives at all times.  If we are to thank God for the blessings, then we must also trust Him in trials and tribulation.  The same God that blesses also challenges.  

Trust the Perfect Shepherd.  

 

Caution . .Following our Heavenly Shepherd should not be confused with blindly following a pastor, church doctrine, televangelist, or Christian author.  Even though men may profess to perfectly preach the perfect word from God, test all things by scripture through prayer and mediation.
 *Daily Strength for Daily Needs- January 31
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8534/pg8534.html
 






Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)