“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6, NIV)
My wedding gift to Cathy was Annabelle. Annabelle was a timid but loving Lhasa Apso. Annabelle also had a need of frequent grooming. Being a young, poor seminary family, I offered to trim Annabelle’s mane. Cathy was hesitant. I reassured my wife that cutting a dog’s hair is just like trimming bushes. Sadly, I recognized too late that unlike bushes, dogs tend to wiggle when running a pair of shears over their skin. Poor Annabelle came away from the experience looking like she’d been in a fight with Edward Scissorhands.
I find myself guilty too often of living out the song Frank Sinatra popularized. I did it my way. At moments, I am either too stubborn or too independent to admit that I need help. “I can do it myself” becomes a prelude to “Uh oh!” Who needs a shepherd anyway? As Isaiah claimed, we all are like sheep, prone to doing our own thing and leaving a mess for God to clean up. Isaiah’s point is that we aren’t as self-reliant as we think.
If you doubt what I’m saying then let me ask you a few questions. Are you in control of your mood all the time? Do you ever make a mistake or misjudge a person’s actions? Are you in good stead with everyone or are some of your relationships damaged by something you said? Have you fear of anyone or anything, or does anxiety sometimes keep you up at night?
If you said “Yes” to any of these questions then you are in greater need of the Shepherd than you realize. Frankly, I’ve never heard anyone tell me that they regretted doing things God’s way. On the other hand, I can point you to one wife who will never allow her husband to do his own thing, ever again!
My wedding gift to Cathy was Annabelle. Annabelle was a timid but loving Lhasa Apso. Annabelle also had a need of frequent grooming. Being a young, poor seminary family, I offered to trim Annabelle’s mane. Cathy was hesitant. I reassured my wife that cutting a dog’s hair is just like trimming bushes. Sadly, I recognized too late that unlike bushes, dogs tend to wiggle when running a pair of shears over their skin. Poor Annabelle came away from the experience looking like she’d been in a fight with Edward Scissorhands.
I find myself guilty too often of living out the song Frank Sinatra popularized. I did it my way. At moments, I am either too stubborn or too independent to admit that I need help. “I can do it myself” becomes a prelude to “Uh oh!” Who needs a shepherd anyway? As Isaiah claimed, we all are like sheep, prone to doing our own thing and leaving a mess for God to clean up. Isaiah’s point is that we aren’t as self-reliant as we think.
If you doubt what I’m saying then let me ask you a few questions. Are you in control of your mood all the time? Do you ever make a mistake or misjudge a person’s actions? Are you in good stead with everyone or are some of your relationships damaged by something you said? Have you fear of anyone or anything, or does anxiety sometimes keep you up at night?
If you said “Yes” to any of these questions then you are in greater need of the Shepherd than you realize. Frankly, I’ve never heard anyone tell me that they regretted doing things God’s way. On the other hand, I can point you to one wife who will never allow her husband to do his own thing, ever again!