What if the Good Shepherd Wasn’t Good?
Trying to sleep seemed like a never-ending nightmare last night because of extremely high winds and sleet/hail pelleting the windows. I prayed without ceasing, alternating prayers asking that our power wouldn’t go out then thanking my Good Shepherd it didn’t. Our power has a tendency to go out when there are high winds especially when there’s also ice coating branches weighing them down.
My prayers extended to my sheep and other rescues that they would settle in and settle down since they have a heightened awareness and skittishness when there are storms. I prayed that a tree or large limb wouldn’t fall on the buildings or fences. I prayed our water pipes wouldn’t freeze and burst. I prayed for everything and everybody out in the weather. I prayed.
Honestly, I pray a lot anyways — oftentimes out loud when I’m alone. But I tend to only pray without ceasing when there’s something happening that is more than the usual everyday fare for me.
I often even pray during the night when there’s urgent prayer needed like when my dear friend Pat was battling a deadly disease. It seemed like my Good Shepherd woke me continually to pray for her and her family and I told her I was praying her through the night. I didn’t mind. It was an honor.
I guess that’s the point. It is an honor to pray. It’s beyond my comprehension that the very God Who created the earth and all the things in it would think my prayers were worthy of His time or attention. Yet, He created this love language between us.
I grew up thinking prayer was only a formal affair, hands folded, eyes closed, head bowed. But as I got older, I realized my prayers were coveted by my Good Shepherd and He delights in any time I turn my thoughts and prayers towards Him. Just as those who love us most seek our conversation, affection and attention, so does He.
It’s an honor to pray? It is to me, and I remind myself of that often. Because what if the Good Shepherd was not good? What if He could care less about communing with me? What if He created me then sent me on my way without even glancing back? What if He didn’t care about me in the least?
I can’t imagine how different my life would be if my Good Shepherd wasn’t good. I would be like any sheep without their Shepherd — alone with no protection or love or hope or care. I would be lost. Truly and profoundly down to the depths of my soul, lost.
The very thought of that takes my breath away. The very thought of that makes me internalize what could be but isn’t. The very thought of that causes me to want to pray without ceasing in thanksgiving to my Good Shepherd.
MY. GOOD. SHEPHERD. Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God. And so much more than I can or will ever understand.
Jackie Deems copyright 2024
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11
