LET THE SHEPHERD LEAD
LET THE SHEPHERD LEAD
Jibola made a decision some time ago that nothing will ever again have the power to distract him from JESUS. Absolutely NOTHING.
He had gotten into a classic mess of being busy getting dizzy doing nothing. One night he got home exhausted and his daughter asked him “Dad, what is the matter? What happened. You look really tired!” At that moment he realised that he could not even point to a particular event that had stressed him out that day. It just seemed like he was permanently in that stressed position.
As he lay down beside his wife that night, he knew he could no longer carry on that way. He was always in a rush to do one or another time consuming task that did not seem to be yielding much result. He was hardly present at home. It was always something related to the business. No wonder he was always exhausted. He decided right there that he would take a few days off work. He talked to his wife about it and she said it was a great idea. He called his manager first thing the following morning and gave instructions on how to handle the outstanding issues. Then he switched off his phone. After his wife and daughter left for work that morning , he knelt down by his bedside. He was still, quiet and he suddenly realised that he had not done that in quite a while. He felt sad. Very sad indeed. And before he knew it he was sobbing. In between the sobs he kept saying : “Forgive me, LORD! I feel like a stranger here. Please, forgive me, LORD.” And Jibola began to ask himself, “Where did all the time go? How did it happen that I had stopped having my quiet time?” He sobbed some more. He thought, so this is how and why my life no longer seems to have any direction. He was putting his fingers in every pie, wanting in on every deal he caught wind of, not caring to ask the LORD if it was what He wanted. “No wonder I am always drained.” thought Jibola.
He lay flat in worship, touching his forehead to the floor. He was like that for a while and he dozed off.
Then he dreamt. Jibola saw himself being led by someone he could not see. But he followed never the less, feeling no fear. His leader wove in and out of shady places, avoiding ditches here and there, moving him out of the way before he ran into a stationary motorbike that he had not seen. As all this was happening he was enjoying it. And there in the dream. Jibola thought; “I could follow this guy forever, he knows every where to avoid and every where to go.” Then suddenly Jibola woke up with a start and saw that it was just a dream. But this was no ordinary dream.
He had just had an encounter with the LORD clearly telling him: “Jibola, let me lead you, I am your Shepherd.” And at that moment he understood that as long as he kept trying to do life and figure it out all by himself, he would be stressed.
So many things began to flood his mind and a lot of them were scriptures he had learnt through the years. Where were they coming from? Knowing that he had not picked up his bible in a while, he nodded as he understood that the Holy Spirit was reminding him. Ooh how he missed those times.
He got off his feet and began thanking God, for being merciful and kind to him. Jibola thanked God for not being angry with him but instead reaching out to him in compassion by letting him know He wanted to lead him. By the time his wife called to see how he was doing he sounded like a totally different person. She knew something had shifted and she could not hide her joy when she came back home and flew into his arms.
To God be all the Glory!!! She knew they would be alright.
Dear friends, God knew that we could not do this life well on our own and He made provision to fill that gap by sending Jesus to help us.
“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Matthew 2:6 NIV Even Jesus agreed with what the Father said above. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” Mark 6:34 NIV
This new year, my prayer for us all is that we will let Jesus teach us many things especially the things we believe we know, yet we do not know them. I also pray that we will let Jesus lead us. As our Shepherd, He is responsible for the holistic care of His sheep. His responsibility is to perfect everything that concerns us. If we let Jesus lead us He will protect us from every danger, He will lead us to our sustenance and He will eventually bring out the healthiest and happiest version of ourselves. The best we can ever be can only emerge in Jesus.
LET JESUS LEAD US THIS YEAR AND ALWAYS.
OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS ©