The lost sheeps...

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:1-4

These verses are one of my favorite verses of all time because they provide a very visual picture of how God cares for us. When I read this verse, it calms my fear of the uncertainty in the future because I know my God is with me and I have nothing to fear. When I'm exhausted and frustrated by the circumstances around me, I can come before Him and He will give me rest.

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about this verse. I wondered why Jesus called Himself the shepherd and we are called the sheep. I mean what particular qualities of the sheep do we resemble? So I did a bit of research on sheep, and when I say research, I mean I "wikipedia" it, lol. Anyways, through my research, I realized how sheep-like we really are. First of all, did you know that sheep has no sense of direction? Apparently, they can't move from one grazing area to another grazing area without guidance. So even if there is nothing left in the current grazing area, they aren't not able to migrate to another area on their own. Also, if a sheep is lost, it won't be able to find its own way back. We are often lost in life just like these sheep. We don't know what we are doing half of the time, we don't know what's going to happen in the future, we don't know why things happen the way they do...sometimes we just go around in circles trying to find our way. We all have the intentions of doing good, but a lot of times we fail miserably. The good news is that we have a shepherd that knows the way. We have a shepherd who loves us and wants to guide us to the green pastures. In Him we can find rest and in Him we don't have to fear.

"Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid..." Psalm 78:52-53

The other interesting thing about sheep is that they don't like going uphill. Apparently, sheep become very nervous when they have to go uphill because they can't see what's ahead. So if a shepherd need to guide the sheep uphill to a fresh pasture, it takes a lot of effort and patience. Even if the fresh pasture right over the hill, the sheep will choose to remain in the dried up land in order to avoid going uphill. This is the same for us. Let's face it, we are not a big fan of going uphill physically or in life. Going uphill is painful and tiring, and it's hard to see the reward at the end. We like our life easy, we prefer the flat plain over the up and downs of the hills. We don't like being on the roller coaster of life, we don't like facing difficult decisions, we don't like painful losses, we don't like facing trials... But often, it is only after we faced and persevered through a trial that we can grow and learn. In other words, sometimes it's only when we reach the top of the hill that we can see that beautiful green pasture. Only when we get to the top of the hill and look around, we realize why we were forced to go through all that pain and fear.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

Finally, I learned that sheep cannot turn around on its own once it has fallen on its back. It is stuck with its feet in the air, and over time, its circulation is slowly cut off. Without the help of a shepherd turning it on its legs, it will eventually die from the lack of circulation. In this culture of self proficiency, we are taught that we can do anything we put our mind to. This is true sometimes, but other times, even when we try our hardest, we still can't do it. We are taught to rely on ourselves, which can be a good thing, but we forget that a lot of time things are simply not in our control. We are like these sheep stuck with our feet in the air. We struggle to turn around and get up, but we just can't. The funny thing is, even when the shepherd comes along and try to help us onto our feet, but we push Him away thinking we could do it on our own. Then when we fail, we become so disappointed with ourselves, with our situation, with our mistakes... Yet, here we have a shepherd who is in control, He wants to help us, He asks us to rely on Him, He knows we can't do it on our own.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

We as Christians, we are no longer the lost sheeps. We have a shepherd and He knows us by our name. Jesus said He is our shepherd and He would do anything for His sheeps. We protected under His power and His might. All we have to do is trust in our good shepherd. 

 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14-15