Reason #934
Aaron and I went to dinner and a movie tonight, and on the way home I requested we stop for dessert. My eyes were bigger than my stomach, and after I consumed a brownie covered in ice cream, I was miserably stuffed . We got home and took Scout for a walk so the sugar could settle and I could breathe. As we rounded the corner to our street, I spotted a loose dog that had seen earlier in the week. He looked well fed and clean, but he didn't have a collar. We walked to the other side of the street, and he started our way. Since Scout was on my side, so I said, "No." The dog immediately stopped and backed up. Aaron walked closer to the dog, feeling compassionate about his circumstances, and the dog tucked his tail and began to run off. We decided that surely he lived close by and was just out for a stroll. That was a comforting thought at least, and we hoped we were right. After all, the thought of a lost pet is heartbreaking...especially to a pet owner.
We took a break on our walk so that Scout could drink out from a little stream of water running down the street. I asked Aaron if he thought she could ever survive on her own. He said, "I don't know, and I don't even want to think about that. I'm sure she probably couldn't. She wouldn't know how to find food, and she'd probably end up being something else's food." I quickly agreed and changed the subject. I can't stand the thought of Scout being lost. I know how helpless she is, and she wouldn't get far. She'd face a whole lot of things she couldn't stand up to, and she'd have no idea how to make it without our help. Scout's as dependent as they come. She needs us to keep her alive, keep her safe, and keep her out of trouble. And the truth is, we're more than happy to do that for her.
I think the Lord feels the same way about us. The idea of us wandering around lost is heartbreaking to Him. That's why He is willing to leave the 99 and search for the 1. To know that something you love so dearly is helplessly wandering by itself is an unsettling thought. Knowing that they desperately need you and that they can't survive on their own makes it even worse. And yet, so often in our relationship with Lord, we choose to get lost because we're certain we'll be fine. We can handle things on our own, we think. We don't need help. Plus, we'd like to go where we want and do what we want, and so we have no problem wandering off. We want to be independent and make our own choices without any assistance or guidance, but little do we know, those choices aren't always the best. In our wandering, we often get into more of a bind than we could have ever imagined. We find that maybe we can't handle our independence as well as we thought we could, and we get so lost that we're certain we'll never be found.
But it doesn't have to be that way. We don't have to venture off to find life, we just have to find Jesus and stay with Him. He is more than happy to be our good Shepherd. He came for that reason. He didn't intend for us to wander around feeling lost and afraid. He is more than happy to be our guide, our protector, or provider, and our helper. His desire is that we walk through life with Him, not apart for Him. That's why we were created. To find Him, to know Him, and to be in relationship with Him.
So if you've been found by Him, stay with Him. If you've wandered off, find comfort in knowing that the Good Shepherd is coming for you. Look for Him, and remain with Him. Apart from Him, you can do nothing. Believe it when He says that, too. He knows what He's talking about. And know that He won't lose you. He's got His eye on you, and He's watching you. He knows right where you are, so don't worry that you're on your own. The only time the Good Shepherd ever leaves His sheep is to go rescue them and return them to the flock.
#934 - Because He will not lose us.
"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day." - Ezekiel 34:11-12
We took a break on our walk so that Scout could drink out from a little stream of water running down the street. I asked Aaron if he thought she could ever survive on her own. He said, "I don't know, and I don't even want to think about that. I'm sure she probably couldn't. She wouldn't know how to find food, and she'd probably end up being something else's food." I quickly agreed and changed the subject. I can't stand the thought of Scout being lost. I know how helpless she is, and she wouldn't get far. She'd face a whole lot of things she couldn't stand up to, and she'd have no idea how to make it without our help. Scout's as dependent as they come. She needs us to keep her alive, keep her safe, and keep her out of trouble. And the truth is, we're more than happy to do that for her.
I think the Lord feels the same way about us. The idea of us wandering around lost is heartbreaking to Him. That's why He is willing to leave the 99 and search for the 1. To know that something you love so dearly is helplessly wandering by itself is an unsettling thought. Knowing that they desperately need you and that they can't survive on their own makes it even worse. And yet, so often in our relationship with Lord, we choose to get lost because we're certain we'll be fine. We can handle things on our own, we think. We don't need help. Plus, we'd like to go where we want and do what we want, and so we have no problem wandering off. We want to be independent and make our own choices without any assistance or guidance, but little do we know, those choices aren't always the best. In our wandering, we often get into more of a bind than we could have ever imagined. We find that maybe we can't handle our independence as well as we thought we could, and we get so lost that we're certain we'll never be found.
But it doesn't have to be that way. We don't have to venture off to find life, we just have to find Jesus and stay with Him. He is more than happy to be our good Shepherd. He came for that reason. He didn't intend for us to wander around feeling lost and afraid. He is more than happy to be our guide, our protector, or provider, and our helper. His desire is that we walk through life with Him, not apart for Him. That's why we were created. To find Him, to know Him, and to be in relationship with Him.
So if you've been found by Him, stay with Him. If you've wandered off, find comfort in knowing that the Good Shepherd is coming for you. Look for Him, and remain with Him. Apart from Him, you can do nothing. Believe it when He says that, too. He knows what He's talking about. And know that He won't lose you. He's got His eye on you, and He's watching you. He knows right where you are, so don't worry that you're on your own. The only time the Good Shepherd ever leaves His sheep is to go rescue them and return them to the flock.
#934 - Because He will not lose us.
"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day." - Ezekiel 34:11-12
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