Jesus I Surrender by Jeff Deyo

The words to this song have been in my heart all week. 

Recently I was pondering 'sheep'.  Thinking about these lovely creatures and the beautiful fibers they give the world while still being alive.  You see, sheep are sheared once or twice a year of their coats.  They are not killed for their fibers such as mink, fox, seals, etc.  These coats are called fleece which are then weighed, sorted by various criteria and sold.  Spinners make their selections then sent to have the fleece processed by a mill, or they, the spinners will do the processing themselves.  The mills send the finished washed fleece back to the spinner who then begins a process of what is called 'carding', to us, that would be sort of like combing the fleece and then the process of 'spinning' begins to end with a product that you and I know as 'yarn'.

These beautiful animals come in many breeds, shapes, sizes, colors and temperaments.  The fiber can be crimpy, straight, short, long, or curly.  Every continent has a variety of sheep that does well in that climate and region.  Some can withstand temperatures of very cold while others can withstand hot temperatures.

On a visit to Rhinebeck, New York, I discovered that these animals respond to touch.  They are soft animals in that they enjoy human touch and company.  Sometimes they will reach into your coat pockets to draw out whatever they can find.  When you touch them you immediately feel their warmth and you feel their trust in you.  When you place your hand on the base of their horns, that area is so warm so inviting,  and as you move further up their horns, you realize it becomes less warm and begins to feel tepid.

Sheep graze off the grass on the land.  They become like living lawn mowers.  I began to think how do sheep apply to me as a spiritual learning ground.  Am I like a living lawn mower, grazing on the Word of GOD, chewing on it and digesting it?  Am I gentle as the sheep and do I know and recognize the voice of the one I must follow?

The Bible encourages us to be like 'sheep'.  And yet the word of GOD also says that while we were yet being formed in our mother's womb HE knew us.  HIS word also says that HE knows the very number of hairs on our heads.  So you might think well sheep are sort of the same and roam in flocks or herds, so how can GOD know me if I look and sound like the rest of the herd?  Well,  just like there are different breeds that are unique, so are we.  Just like there are temperamental sheep, so can we be as well.  Each sheep makes a slightly different sound when it vocalizes itself, so can we.  HOLY SPIRIT knows our deepest groanings from deep inside our bowels.

God knows when we are in the valley. "Psalms 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for YOU are with me; YOUR rod and YOUR staff, they comfort me."  Sheep are found high in the mountains and low in the valleys according to their breeding regions.

I am walking a valley, but I have hopes that one day I will pass through and out of this valley.  You see, in order to reach the hills and then the mountain tops, we have to first go through the valleys.  Some of our valleys can take longer than others, but eventually we will come out of them.  I know that many believe Psalms 23 is meant only to those who are near death, etc. but we can derive so much from this piece of scripture if we only allow Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts.

We like sheep do sometimes stray, but did you know that many sheep remember where they were born and return to that place?  Why did GOD likened us to the sheep, well sheep are trusting.  And so we like sheep, must trust the Great Shepherd.