Psalm 23:1-4, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness.
    for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.”

When a sheep wanders away from it’s shepherd it is also walking away from his protection. Outside the herd and the protection of the shepherd, the sheep is at great risk.

In order to keep the wandering sheep safe, the shepherd has to take great care to retrain the sheep. He will break the sheep’s legs for it’s own safety. This forces the sheep to lie down and learn not to wander away. However, the shepherd does not stop there. He then carries that sheep everywhere it needs to go, he tends to the sheep throughout the healing process, so the sheep knows who the provider is and learns to trust in him.

When I learned about this, I couldn’t help but see myself as the wandering sheep. Can you see yourself as well?

Whether you struggle to find time to spend with God, or you are enticed by something that isn’t truly the best for you, we are putting distance between us and our shepherd.

I believe that this crazy season with the Coronavirus is due to a fallen and broken world, but I also believe God can use it to draw us back to Him.

Perhaps we haven’t made the best choices, or grown in our character and relationship with Christ. But now we have the opportunity to re-train. Stop wandering and lie down in His green pastures, stop the hustle and take time to restore your soul, turn away from your sin and follow the instruction of his rod and staff.

Let’s walk this dark valley with our shepherd and lean on Him as our Great Comfort and Provider.

-Emilie