Prone to Wander

By Katrina Seamons
@deliberatefamily
deliberatefamily.com

“The Lord is my shepherd…” is a beautiful analogy to teach us about the Savior’s character. Have you ever stopped to consider what it means for you and me to be a sheep? 

I love David Butler’s perspective on this:

“Being compared to a sheep is not exactly a compliment. I don’t think the Lord is trying to put us down, but sheep are not the smartest of creatures in the animal kingdom…raising sheep can be a major pain in the rear.” (Redeemer, pg 12)

He goes on to talk about all the characteristics of sheep: Directionless, needy, absentminded, never satisfied, don’t know what they want, completely defenseless, high-maintenance, and complete wanderers. With those characteristics, I don’t think anyone ever wants to be compared to a sheep!

But the Lord uses this imagery to help us see how completely we need our Savior every moment of our lives. And the beauty of this relationship is that this Good Shepherd doesn’t resent his sheep—he actually likes them. He never gives up on them. They are worth everything to Him, including his own life.

That causes me to question: if I am prone to wander, is it pointless to even try to follow Him? I want to stay close to Him, trust Him, and watch for Him as I graze, but how can I do it? Here are 3 ways we can have a good relationship with our Shepherd every day.

Prioritize small consistent habits to build a real relationship with Him

Sheep may be directionless but they are habitual. A shepherd can count on them to follow something and to graze when taken to a pasture. They have consistent habits. Like sheep, we can create consistent habits in our lives to stay close to the Shepherd. There are many ways to connect with Him every day:

• prayers of gratitude every morning
• reading a verse of scripture in the middle of our day
• singing or listening to uplifting music on our way to work
• or asking the Lord questions that are on our minds
• Shepherds herding sheep appreciate when the sheep are obedient and when they follow him. Christ also loves any effort, even small ones, to show we want to be near Him.

Decide what you want with the Good Shepherd

I was talking to my 12 year old recently about what he wants to accomplish this summer. He said “I don’t know. Nothing.” I smiled and told him that if he doesn’t know where he wants to be by the end of the summer, then he will have nothing to show for his time away from school. He will wander from activity to activity, friend to friend, screen to screen. Like a sheep. Sheep will follow anything that comes into view—and sometimes that can lead them over a cliff or into waters they want to avoid. Part of life is learning how to decide what you want, write it down, and make a plan of how to get there. Learn to be deliberate. Isn’t that pattern what our Good Shepherd does? He knows he wants his sheep safe, he works hard to prepare the places for the sheep to go, and He leads them and stays with them as they move about. If we want to become less like sheep, and more like the shepherd, we need to decide what we want and walk with Him to get there.

Recognize His abundance of blessings and give thanks every day

Sheep don’t really thank their shepherd for all He does for them. But luckily we can! I love the phrase “thou fount of every blessing” as a name for Christ. He really does pour out blessings on us no matter how much we wander. He never stops looking for us and giving us chance after chance when we keep falling short. He is always one step ahead of us, looking for ways to provide us with green pastures for our journey on this earth. And when we are grateful for it, our hearts are changed. We learn His voice and we learn His methods by noticing all He does for us. Find a way every day to prioritize gratitude. As you do, you will stay close to the shepherd and find yourself wandering away less often.

I’m grateful to be a sheep in Christ’s fold. With the many flocks around the world today, it is tricky to know what voices to listen to and who to follow. The Lord has promised us that He will always be with us and if we stay close to Him. We don’t need to fear. He promised to pour out “blessings unmeasured so our cups run…over”. That is where I want to stay every day. Through His power and my daily efforts, I can overcome my natural instincts to wander.

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