Lessons from a Wyoming Shepherd
He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11
Learning something new every day is a noteworthy goal. In that effort we don’t have a chance of becoming stagnant or having dusty minds. And you’re thinking, ‘it all depends on what you’re learning’, aren’t you? God loves all His creatures, including us. They teach us so many life-lessons and this one is no different. Suzanne Davenport Tietjen (Mornings with Jesus) shares what she found out about lambs.
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Yesterday, I learned something new from a Wyoming shepherd about the instincts of very young lambs. In the high country, large flocks of sheep graze unenclosed by fences. Shepherds and dogs keep them safe day and night. The sheep nest near the herders’ wagons, sometimes within a lantern-lit circle. If the very youngest lambs are sleeping soundly, then awakened suddenly, they jump up, bleating loudly, then follow anything in motion. This instinct is what helps lambs stay with their mother and the herd. But if the motion is from an ATV or the predator that woke them, following could cost them their lives.
Later, as they get older, lambs will learn to follow their mother’s voice as well as their shepherd’s.
I like to think this may be why the shepherd in Isaiah 40:11 was carrying the littlest lambs in his arms, close to His heart. This description points to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who knows His own and who’s own know Him (John 10:14).
Too often, like these lambs, I give in to knee jerk reactions. I might praise someone without knowing very much about them. Or share something on social media that I haven’t fully read or considered. I need to react less like a startled lamb, foolishly following whatever moves and instead listen to my Shepherd’s voice and follow Him. In Jesus’s arms is the safest place.
FAITH STEP: Watch some sheep in person or on YouTube. Contemplate why we are compared to them. Then talk to the Good Shepherd and thank Him for His love and protection.
Loving Shepherd, thank You for carrying us in Your arms and close to Your heart. Teach us to run to the safety of Your embrace when the predators are chasing us. Remind us to stay close to You. AMEN.