Day 17 | The Cast Sheep – John
Picture this, you walk up a hill and off in the distance you are confronted with an image that would be very comical if you didn’t know the severity of the situation. Off in the distance, you see a sheep laying on its back, feet up in the air, wildly thrashing around trying to turn itself right side up again and failing miserably.
While this would be a funny sight, shepherds deal with this serious issue all the time because actual sheep are completely incapable of turning themselves over again and, if left long enough, could die in that position. It’s an unfortunate reality for sheep. But it’s also true of you and me.
We do not like to admit it, but if Jesus is your Shepherd, then that makes you a sheep.
No self-help book will tell you this because that is not exactly the image most of us are striving for. We want to be strong, capable, successful, put-together, and productive. We want to be the kind of people who are killing it at work, being a model parent, investing in a strong and healthy marriage, all while easily maintaining our kids sports schedules, being an awesome friend, serving in the church and in the community, and somehow still have enough left in the tank to add just one more thing to our overpacked, overscheduled, overwhelmed lives. Welcome to the new American Dream. Too busy and to overcommitted to find refreshment for our souls and the guidance we desperately need to get off our backs and right side up again.
While it is easy to think negatively of ourselves and identify all the areas we need to improve, there is no corrective action plan that can fix what’s going on in most of our lives. What this verse does, however, is simply beautiful and a fresh breath of air to the weary, worn-out soul, who is trying to juggle all the pressures of life because this verse offers us a completely different way to live our lives.
You are a sheep and like a sheep, you desperately need a shepherd. Psalm 23 does not begin with, “The Lord is my assistant or my AI agent.” It begins with, “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). This should humble you and clarify your true identity. I am not the shepherd; I am the sheep. Therefore, my shepherd is the one responsible for providing for me (23:1), engineering my rest (23:2a), guiding me to places of nourishment (23:2b), refreshing my soul and guiding me down paths that bring me life (Ps. 23:3).
Take a deep breath through your nose right now, hold it, and now exhale through your mouth.
The feeling you are experiencing right now in your chest and shoulders is the same feeling you should have when you realize that it does not all depend on you. Your shepherd longs to guide you and provide for you. He knows the limitations you have, even if you don’t want to admit them, and still desires to bring refreshment and guidance into your life. It is because of your limitations that you need the Lord as your shepherd. Let's consider actual sheep for a moment.
Phillip Keller, a former shepherd, highlights in his book, A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23, that left to their own devices, sheep would devastate fields because they don’t know when to leave an area for better food sources, they will drink from tainted water resulting in infections because they don’t know the difference between clean and dirty sources, they will follow whatever path they wander down, which could lead them to devastation. If they are being attacked by a predator, they don’t run but group together making them easier targets. They are even so incapable of providing for themselves that if a fly lands on their wool, lays eggs and those eggs turn into maggots, the sheep can't even get them off.[1]
What Psalm 23 is communicating to us, and what the actual reality of sheep is showing us, is that we are completely incapable of leading our lives and need to be totally reliant upon our Good Shepherd. Are you?
Are you totally reliant upon your Good Shepherd for everything in your life right now?
Jesus claims to be the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and that his sheep hear his voice and follow Him (John 10:27). Today, be honest with yourself and start viewing your Shepherd as the only One who can provide for you, guide you, protect you, and bring refreshment and restoration into every area of your life. Your Shepherd is near and He can turn you right side up.
REFLECT
Where do you feel most cast down right now: work, marriage, parenting, friendships, finances, or your walk with God?
What are you carrying that Jesus never asked you to carry?
What spiritual rhythm do you need to recover this week so your soul can be restored?
PRAYER
Jesus, you are so amazing, so kind, and so caring that when I am incapable of even turning myself over, you gently, faithfully, and patiently come alongside of me through your Holy Spirit to set me back on the right path for my benefit and blessing. Thank you. Thank you.
TAKE ACTION TODAY
Practice the Shepherds' Pause.
When you feel overwhelmed, interrupted, behind, or needed by everyone, pause for 60 seconds before moving on. Take one slow breath in, one slow breath out, and pray:
Jesus, You are my Shepherd. I am not. Restore my soul. Guide my next step.
Then ask, what is the next faithful thing You are asking me to do?
Do not try to fix your whole life today. Do not try to become a different person by dinner. Simply let the Shepherd turn you right side up and guide your next step. That is how sheep learn to follow. One step at a time.