Like A Sheep

I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

Psalm 119:174-176

I’m imagining a sheep, out in the pasture surrounded by other sheep. How does it get lost? It probably doesn’t have any sense of ill or rebellion towards its owner, it just begins to wander, following its nose and the grass it is eating. As it wanders it doesn’t consider its surroundings or where it is compared to where it has been. It’s possible the stupid animal (I’m told sheep are stupid) doesn’t even know that it is lost! Being lost, it may not even perceived the danger it is in being away from the protection of the shepherd…

I’ve strayed like that. Oblivious to where my nose was taking me. I guess I am not as dumb as a sheep however (I wish). I have at times raised my head and noticed my location. “Seek your servant…” I have needed the Great Shepherd to come and lead me home. Even when you know which way you need to go, it’s good to have a Shepherd.

Devotions are important for me. I need the daily intake and processing of God’s Word for my spiritual sanity! The frenzy of life can too easily overtake me – I need God’s Word. I am weak and I need His strength. Even when I know this, having followed my nose somewhere else, it is not always easy to find your way back. It’s good to have a Shepherd!

I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight! Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me – my Lord and my God.