Choose to be led

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. _{Psalm 23:3}

It seems strange, at first, to think that the Christian who is under the care and protection of Almighty God would ever need restoration after salvation. We know, of course, that life is not simple and circumstances can lead us into times of great distress. The psalmist himself writes, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?”

Sheep find themselves in difficulty at times. The most distressing is when they roll onto their back, for they cannot right themselves and get onto their feet. This situation has dire consequences because in the wrong conditions a sheep in this position can die within hours. The attention of the shepherd to his flock is vital to their well-being. Ironically, the term used for this circumstance is ‘cast’, and a cast sheep needs to be found and helped quickly because it is vulnerable and is easy prey for attack.

Satan looks for those vulnerable moments in the Christian; his attack can be subtle, but it can be savage. We need to be very careful about getting too comfortable and complacent. Often, when we are most sure of ourselves, we are in the most danger of falling. The Spirit of God is always there, waiting to take us from a place of self-reliance and restore us back to a place of dependency on Him.

The Spirit guides us away from old habits and unproductive ground, and leads us on the right path. The sad thing is, a lot of people don’t want to be led. They can be stubborn and self-willed, wanting to be leaders and not followers. Unfortunately, the price of going our own way is broken homes and derelict lives. This is why Jesus urged that we deny ourselves and follow him. He restores the broken and that which has been cast down. He never takes his eye off us and his genuine concern and compassion for us means that he is there the minute we stumble or fall, getting us straight back up on our feet.

In everything that you strive to do, choose to be led by the Good Shepherd.