Ebola. The first U.S. patient was officially diagnosed this week with the viral predator Ebola and fear is the most popular response – even in Christian circles. It’s all over the news and likely on your mind too. You are thinking of where you will run to when the big outbreak happens – IF it does happen and how you can stockpile enough food for your family to eat while you hide away in your cabin in the woods.
Do you know what else runs away when it’s afraid? Sheep. Funny how the bible is full of sheep analogies, isn’t it?
Sheep have a deep deep desire to stay close together. And when the big bad wolf comes lurking into a pasture the sheep flee- together.
They don’t have a secret hide out or shelter to hole themselves up in; they simply follow the first sheep that started running. And he doesn’t really have a plan either. He runs and they follow. Remind you of anything? Who do you follow when you are afraid? The news? The CDC?
“All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, each of us, to his own way…” Isaiah 53:6
Not only are we following these lost sheep, but other scared sheep are following us. Like your children. You know they see you watch the news coverage all day. They hear you talking on the phone to your mother venting your fears for the future. These little ears, more than anyone else, need to know it’s going to be OK. YOU need to know that it’s going to be OK.
Sheep are not dumb. They may be skittish and quick to run, but they can do one really good thing. They can befriend a shepherd. A good shepherd feeds his flock with hands full of grain. He nourishes them and gently cares for them with no expectations until the sheep begin to recognize his form.
When the shepherd appears in the field and walks towards his favorite sheep,( the one whose wet nose pushed deep into his palm full of oats the week before) the sheep meets his gaze and draws near. And a beautiful thing happens when the other sheep see the trust they share. They feel the safety and follow the confident sheep to its master. God created sheep with an instinct to be led. YOU were created to be led too.
So, I’ll ask it again.
Who are you following today in this broken world?
Is it the fearful thing the flock is running from or is it the Good Shepherd? Did you turn away when he came to meet you in the pasture? Did you follow your peers down that road to nowhere? Did your children see the fear in your eyes?
Turn back lost sheep.
We may be prone to wander, but the Good Shepherd never turns away his own. He is waiting for you, arms full of peace and love. Fear and death can hold no power over you when the Lord is the one shepherding you. You are fed from the very hand of God and can truly say “I lack nothing.”
It is a choice.
A counter-cultural crazy choice to give up the fear of life’s great enemy – death. When fear no longer paralyzes us, we are free to love and give in astounding ways.
Like the family of missionaries serving in the Middle East, spreading the gospel on the streets to Muslims. Or the family that adopted two children even though they already had four mouths to feed. What about the folks who give up their weekend to hug and give food to the homeless people downtown who haven’t bathed in a month?
We don’t have time to knot our fists in fear. We have more important things to do. There are people who need you to open up your palms and be the hands and feet of Jesus today.
Still need help battling your fears? Download Laurie’s God of New Beginnings right now for a fresh and peaceful new start .
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What scriptures encourage you in the face of fear? I’d love to hear from you!
