NEAR TO THE SHEPHERD

(Guest post by: Kamryn Green)

Sometimes I really feel like a sheep, as I should be. Near to the Shepherd… no thought of wandering… no other pasture appealing.

Where He goes is where I want to be. Where He is, there is more than enough for me.

Then there are other times that I feel like the mule which must be curbed with bit and bridle, tempted by the selfish allure of walking in man-made strength, making my own paths before my feet.

“Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.” (Psalm 32:9)

Only He could give a grace so sufficient, a kindness this deep, so as to not leave us without understanding. In His love does He instruct, so that we may stay near.

It is obvious the Shepherd doesn’t beat His sheep into following Him, but do we meditate on the truths of who He is that sadly may not be as obvious to us whenever we might fall into forgetfulness? Although it is abundantly clear in His Word, do we recall and remember the way His character truly—at all times—operates? Let us be a people who remember day and night!

He doesn’t work through coercion, manipulation, dragging along…

The language of John 10 tells us…

V.3-4 says, “…the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”
V.11 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
V.14 – “…I know my own and my own know me.”
V.16 – “…they will listen to my voice…”

The sheep know the Shepherd intimately and they know His VOICE.

Each moment, each hour, each day, is a beautiful opportunity to stay close to the Shepherd, Jesus, by following His voice, and by looking to Him as Hebrews 12 tells us.

Giving Him attentive ears and eyes, 24/7.

As we stay close to Him, He grows us in the knowledge of Him so that we might draw closer still. We don’t have to be stubborn, curbed with bit and bridle, because right before verse 9 of Psalm 32 is verse 8!

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Praise God that He is more than willing to give us understanding so that we are able to follow Him. If our eyes are on the Shepherd, we won’t easily forget how He leads, and our spirits will yearn to follow Him. The flesh that does not want to stay near can daily be put away as we look to our Shepherd.

We’ll see His every step that He wants us to see, hear His every word that He wants us to hear, and to simply have Him near, will always be more than enough for us.