It’s all my sister’s fault. She wanted to raise lambs for 4-H and before we knew it, Dad had a herd of sheep. Adorable as they are, they are followers and will blindly follow one another, even when there is danger. They are rather helpless too. If they get stuck on their backs, they will die that way unless someone helps right them. They don’t seem to have a fight to survive. I remember one bitter cold night during lambing season, a set of twins couldn’t seem to get hooked up to their mama for milk. Colleen and I were out in the barn in the middle of the night, trying to get them to latch onto their mama. Her warm milk quickly turned ice cold, numbing our fingers. We were working harder than the lambs, trying to get milk in their tummies.

I also remember a night waking up to the sound of dogs in the pasture. I could hear the sheep’s pounding feet as they ran and their frantic bleating, as well as the growling and panting of dogs in the chase. I called out to Dad. Breathless with adrenaline, I stammered, “Dogs!” He shot out of bed before I’d even completed the word.

The Bible is full of stories about sheep and shepherds. Because of my childhood experiences, the numerous analogies are very relatable. Like sheep, we sometimes follow along because it’s easier than going against the flow. We can be blind to life’s dangers and vulnerable to missteps, especially if we are listening to the wrong people. We need a protector, just like the sheep did in the middle of the night when I called out to Dad.

Fortunately, we have a protector. Jesus is our protector, our helper to guide our steps, fill our minds with wisdom, and give us discernment. We are important to Him, but we can only hear Him if we are listening for His voice. It’s a noisy world and recently, it’s been filled with so much fear. To drown it out and hear Him, we need to be intentional about our time with Him, setting our eyes on our shepherd while turning our ears off to agendas that promote fear.

Jeremiah 23:1-4 states: “Doom to the shepherd-leaders who butcher and scatter my sheep!” God’s Decree. ‘So here is what I, God, Israel’s God, say to the shepherd-leaders who misled my people: You’ve scattered my sheep. You’ve driven them off. You haven’t kept your eye on them. Well, let me tell you, I’m keeping my eye on you, keeping track of your criminal behavior. I’ll take over and gather what’s left of my sheep, gather them in from all the lands where I’ve driven them. I’ll bring them back where they belong, and they’ll recover and flourish. I’ll set shepherd-leaders over them who will take good care of them. They won’t live in fear or panic anymore. All the lost sheep rounded up!” (MSG).

We don’t know what is around the corner, what tomorrow will bring, or even what is ahead in the next hour, but we know we have a good Shepherd. He doesn’t need to be awakened in the night to hear our call. He stands ready to gather us back together, so we can recover and flourish. We don’t need to live in fear, now or ever! Let’s be sure in these uncertain times we are following the One true Shepherd.