Mixed Up Emotions

Sheep, one of many, many animals God created. And out of all those He created he chose to use the sheep to compare His children to. Because our study this past week focused so much on us being God's sheep and Jesus being our Shepherd I googled "characteristics of sheep". What I found from Answers.com was quite telling. This animal is pretty wacky in its behavior and as the ladies from both the morning and evening class looked over the list they found it quite easy to see the similarities. See what they shared (in red) next to the characteristics in gray:

They are of a gregarious nature...meaning they love to be with the herd, they are herbivores. Sheep must have a leader (shepherd) and must be told what to do and where to go, other wise they'll wander off and get lost.

1. timid, fearful, easily panicked [We have a tendency to let things frighten us quite easily.]

2. dumb stupid, gullible [We are quite easily swayed by the wrong things.]

3. very vulnerable to fear, frustration, pests, hunger [We are weak and are easily discontented or troubled.]

4. easily influenced by a leader, by the shepherd [A pastor's (earthly shepherd) words are held in high regard which is why we need to be discerning about their words, are they biblical or not.]

5. stampede easily, vulnerable to mob psychology [We have a tendency to go with the crowd, even if the crowd is not going the right direction. Again we need discernment.]

6. little or no means of self-defense; can only run [Our only defense against the forces of evil is the Holy Spirit. There is no "self" defense, only "Christ" defense.]

7. easily killed by enemies [Again susceptible to enemy attacks which as a Christan can be quite prevalent because we belong too Christ.]

8. the shepherd is most effective, calming influence [We know our Savior's tender calming voice and its influence on us in difficult times brings peace.]

9. jealous, competitive for dominance [Even God's children can get caught up in competition within the church. This is pride and we know how God feels about that.]

10. constantly need fresh water, fresh pasture [Our need for God's Word through His Spirit is constant. It is what we should thirst and hunger for.]

11. have very little discernment in choosing food or water [Again we are easily swayed if we aren't grounded in what His Word is. We can sometimes choose things that are not necessarily spiritually healthy for us.]

12. best water source is early morning dew [Early morning time is best time to spend time with God. As a side note: several gals mentioned their quiet times with the Lord are either during kids nap time or later in the evening. It was agreed that God will and does arrange our times with Him depending on where we are in our lives. What's important is that we are at least getting some intimate fellowship with Him in His word at some point in our day.]

13. perverse, stubborn - will insist on their own way , even eating poisonous
plants or drinking dirty water [Yahh. This would be God's children. No need to say more.]

14. easily "cast" - flipped over on their back, unable to right themselves
will die of starvation if not turned over by shepherd; helpless [Only our Shepherd can get us back on our feet when we've been knocked down.]

15. frequently look for easy places to rest [We like the comfortable life.]

16. don't like to be sheared, cleaned [A good spiritual scrubbing is uncomfortable and sometimes painful but necessary and beneficial.]

17. too much wool can cause sheep to be easily "cast" [When we carry the burdens of life instead of giving them to God we can be easily brought down by the enemy.]

18. creatures of habit; get into "ruts" [We are very easily stuck in our own ways and old traditions and sometimes are not willing to step out of those old ways to follow Christ.]

19. need the most care of all livestock [We require a lot of upkeep. God is such a God of grace for He never pushes us aside. He always cares for us.]

20. need to be "on the move"; need a pre-determined plan, pattern of grazing [We get accustomed to our to do lists and daily agendas. God has a way of taking us out of our comfort zones by bringing unexpected events into our lives.]

21. totally dependent of shepherd for every need [Whether we know it or not we are dependent on God for absolutely everything. And I do mean everything.]

22. need "rod and staff" guidance [We definitely need God's gentle but firm prodding to get us to move and when we stray He gently uses the crook of Hi s staff (hand of reproof and discipline) to bring us back. Again a God of grace.]

So little lamb, did you find yourself anywhere in that list of characteristics? I sure did. Look at the verses below, which you will also find on page 85, #3 to see God's perspective:

Isaiah 53:6
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.

Jeremiah 23:4
Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord have spoken!

Jeremiah 50:6
My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray
and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.

Psalm 100 was not mentioned on Thursday but it is one that keeps coming back to me since this study:

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

What a great picture of our Good Shepherd, the One who protects, guides, watches over, provides and supplies all our needs. He could easily cast us aside and yet does not. His grace is awesome and we should do as the psalmist does above, be reminded of how good God is to us, even in our all our mixed up ways.

We finished our study focusing on Psalm 119 (page 85, #4) Take the time to read through that this coming week. Yes, it is long, really long. But worth a thorough going over. You will see that the psalmist deals with lots of personal emotional issues and yet at every turn he always brings himself back to his personal anchor - the Word of God. Sometimes classifying it as statutes, commandments, precepts or testimonies, his point is clear - God's Word is his foundation, his treasure of life.

As emotionally mixed up sheep we can rest assured when life throws us a few curve balls that our Shepherd's Word to us is our anchor. Like the Psalmist let's seek to also make it our treasure. Now that's not a baaaad idea. (I just couldn't resist.)