Choosing Faith Over Fear
I call the sheep in from an adjacent paddock to give them their evening hay in the barn. The sheep move slowly towards me in a conga line and all is going as I planned. That is until two of my Livestock Guard Dogs (LGDS) decide to run towards the sheep scattering them all across the paddock like woolly billiard balls.
My sheep still instinctively react to dogs as predators instead of protectors because they don’t understand what they’re doing. Their first instinct is to fear, and they instantly lose faith and confidence in the very ones that would literally give their lives to protect them. And even though the dogs have faithfully watched over and protected them for years, they still sometimes choose fear over faith.
Mind you, these are the same sheep and dogs that lay side by side in the pastures together on a daily basis. Most of my sheep have had LGDS in their lives since birth. None of them have been harmed by the dogs. Some sheep have even used the dogs as fluffy pillows and laid their heads on them as they nap together in the afternoon.
But all that is forgotten because of raw unfounded fear. All the days and weeks and months and years the LGDS have been there to help and protect the sheep mean nothing in those moments when fear meets flight and faith is left by the wayside.
How like my sheep am I. When I think of all the days and weeks and months and years my Good Shepherd has been always at my side protecting and loving and comforting me, my human instinct still sometimes immediately kicks in when something unexpected happens in my life that I don’t understand. In those moments I instantly lose faith and confidence in the very One Who literally gave His life for me. It saddens me to admit this but it’s true.
But you know what? I don’t believe it saddens my Good Shepherd because He knows I’m human. He knows my frailties and imperfections, yet He chose me for His flock any ways. That’s because He knows my heart and true intentions. He chose me because I am valuable and loved and cherished just the way I am. Nothing I do or say can change that.
Each time I immediately choose fear over faith my Good Shepherd knows that when situations in my life settle down, I will indeed choose faith in Him and His ways and His wisdom and His will. Because every sheep needs a Good Shepherd. And He is mine.
Jackie Deems copyright 2024
10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
