The sheep don't lead the shepherd.

Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

After reading this particular verse, I began thinking of this idea of sheep and their dependence on the shepherd. Sheep. They travel in flocks. The rarely act independently and will often follower wherever the leader takes them even if its off a cliff. Without the shepherd the sheep are lost. The sheep are dependent on the shepherd for feeding, brining them to good pasture lands and water, grooming and clipping, delivering new lambs, leading them and teaching them to stay together, retrieving the ones that wander off, and protecting the sheep in the field and in the fold, night and day from both wild animals and thieves.

Numerous times throughout scripture we are referred to as sheep, Christ the Good Shepherd. This isn't a new idea. So I began thinking, how dependent am I on the Shepherd? How often do I trust the shepherd for food, shelter, relationships, direction when I'm lost, and protection from attacks? Unfortunately, I'm afraid I've bought into the lies that society and culture tell me- that I don't need a shepherd or that I can lead the shepherd. That I can do it all on my own. That I know what's best for me.  That if I look out for number one I can get whatever I want. That if I buy into it all I'll have everything I could ever want and always be happy. Well I don't know about you but life doesn't seem to work out that way.

When did we decide that we know better than the shepherd. At what point did we decide that despite making a commitment to submit our entire lives to Him and His will, we still get to decide where we're going to go and what the path looks like. That somehow we know better than the shepherd. That somehow despite his commands to daily take up our crosses we get to dictate where we carry those crosses.

I'm afraid that we have decided that despite his leading, we'll make our own way. We'll go the path we see fit even if it means leaving the sheep fold in the dark of night. Because lets be honest, how many of us are sneaking away from the sheep fold in bright daylight where everyone can see what we're doing.  And that’s where I end up in trouble. In those times when I think I've got it all figured out, I've got the plan and I'm going to make it happen no matter the costs, I typically screw things up more than I ever thought possible. I get myself so turned around and twisted up I throw my hands in the air, sit down, and cry.

And then, I look up and I see the Shepherd. I see that despite the 99 sheep still in the fold, he's come in search of the 1. The one dumb sheep that screwed up so royally that she doesn't even know which way is up. But that's the thing about the shepherd, he knows the sheep of his pasture. He knows when they are awake and when they are asleep. He knows when they have needs and when they have plenty. He knows when they are hurt and defeated. He knows when they're so lost in the struggles of life they don't know left from right and when the situation seems impossible. He knows and he cares. And that's why he doesn't leave the 1 to find its own way home.

Precious friends, he loves that 1 sheep so much that he's willing to leave the 99 to bring the one home. He loves you that much. That even if you were the only one on earth he would still have sent his son to die on the cross for your sins so that you could spend eternity with him. He loves you enough to provided for your every need. He loves you enough to fight off bears and lions and to lead you to greener pastures. He loves you enough to make sure that even when you wander, even when you mess up, even when you fail him, you know that he still loves you and you're still worth saving.

So lets stop telling the shepherd where to lead. Lets stop trying to be our own shepherd with our own plans and let the one who made us do the leading. Lets trust that the shepherd loves us enough that he was willing to lay down his life for us so that we can spend eternity with him. If he was willing to do that, its pretty obvious he's got big plans for the sheep of his pasture.