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Dec 26, 2022 06:00am

Sheep Don’t Worry

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Are you anxious about the future? Maybe you’re concerned about a problem you’re facing. Are you losing sleep? Perhaps you are worried about your marriage or children. Your health? Finances? An issue at work? Family problems?

The truth is, worrying solves nothing. It’s like rocking in a rocking chair–it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere.

I know it’s wrong to worry. After all, I am a child of God, and I read in Philippians 4:6, “..be anxious for nothing…”
Yet, I worry.
I fret.
I give into my fears.
And I cry out to God.
For months now I’ve been crying out about a situation which is completely out of my control. A friend suggested I read Psalms 34, so I read it every day.

Here’s what caught my attention today: “…there is no want to them that fear Him. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” This reminded me of the 23rd Psalms. It was the first passage I memorized as a small child. In verse one David declares, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

Do you notice a pattern?
Those who fear Him lack nothing. Those who seek Him lack nothing. Those who are His sheep lack nothing. Why? Because He is God. He is Holy. He is righteous. He is the Creator and Preserver of all things. He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).
The Lord is my Shepherd. I am His sheep. And guess what? Sheep don’t worry. They just trust. Of course they have good reason to trust. Consider all that a good shepherd does for them.
A good shepherd daily leads them in and out.
A good shepherd knows how to feed them and directs their path.
A good shepherd watches over his sheep. He keeps them safe. He fights for them.
A good shepherd brings back the ones who have strayed.
A good shepherd takes them to shade in times of scorching heat.
A good shepherd gives them good things like rest, oil and peace.

The Good Shepherd leads me (Psalm 31:3). O, blessed thought! He directs my path (Proverbs 3:6). He keeps me safe (Proverbs 18:10). He lovingly brings me back when I stray (Luke 15:4). He gives me shade during the scorching heat of persecution (John 16:33). He cares for me (I Peter 5:7). The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

Sheep don’t worry. They just trust. They just follow. They just rest in the care of their shepherd.
Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:9-11.