Being a Sheep

Psalm 100 ¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. ² Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. ³ Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. ⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Only by being His sheep can we truly find rest.

Even though I included the entire psalm, one verse stood out above the rest, and that is verse three. I recently did a little studying about sheep, as well as the concept of us being His sheep. The author lived in an area where sheep were an important part of the livelihood and economy, and therefore knew about sheep (esp. if the author was David, who was, in fact, a shepherd). The more I know about sheep, the less flattering the illustration becomes.

You see, sheep are definitely not the smartest animal out there. In fact, they are probably near the bottom of the intelligence scale. It's a little humbling as an intelligent human to be compared with such an animal, but the illustration fits when I compare myself to God. There are so many times when I haven't acted intelligently esp. where my spiritual life is concerned. I need to realize that I need God to take care of me as a shepherd would take care of his sheep. When I am in His pasture I have little to be concerned with because I know that I am under His care.

To be in His pasture, I must constantly surrender to His leading; something I am not inclined to do. I understood the concept of a general surrender to God, but more recently I have discovered that surrendering to God meant surrendering the little things of life. The process of surrendering is not the easiest thing to do, but it's the only way I can truly find the rest that comes from being the sheep of his pasture.