The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

How do you deal with life's stresses?  Everything that happens isn't a major storm.  I believe that how we learn to handle the everyday stresses in life determine how we handle the major storms of life.  The only way I know how to deal with things is to take it to God.  I am not a person who does well with wasted time on solutions that I know won't work.  So when the stresses of life try to overtake my mind I go to my happy place.  My happy place is in Jesus.  In this place I am able to escape from the every day worries and cares of life.  I call His name and He always answers?  Why?  Because the Shepherd knows His sheep. 

Now when I see a flock of sheep, they all look the same to me.  They all have white fur and four legs.  But in the eyes of the Shepherd they are all individuals.  No two are alike.  That is the way we are in the eyes of God.  He knows each of us individually by name.  Not only that, He cares for all of our needs.  There is no problem to small or too big.  He just likes us to spend time with Him.  We don't have to have an appointment. It doesn't matter how much money we have or what neighborhood we live in.  We can talk to him in a whisper or in a loud voice.  I don't have to speak with eloquent words.  As a matter of fact, sometimes I just call out His name.  I can call Him at precisely the same moment you do and yet He still hears me.  There is never a busy signal. That is why it's my happy place.  I can take all my burdens to the Lord and leave them there.  There is no time limit. Sometimes I am just there for a few minutes and other times I am there for hours.  Each time I am in this place I wait to hear what the Lord says to me. 

John 10:3 says, 'The sheep listen to the voice of the Shepherd.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out'.  This means that it not just important to take our burdens to Lord but we need to hang around in His presence for guidance and direction.  He is ready to give us the exact path we should take.  Unfortunately for me, I haven't always waited to hear what God was trying to say to me.  I just wanted Him to handle my situation.  I didn't always realize that there might be something for me to do.  I may be asking Him to take the pain away from a hurtful relationship but I didn't hang around to hear Him tell me I needed to remove myself from the relationship.  I may have asked Him to bless me financially but I didn't hang around to hear Him say that I needed to tithe.  Open up my hands because closed hands are unable to receive.  For every problem, God has a solution.  For everytime we wander down our own path and get lost, He has the power to lead us out. You may not have a happy place but it is imperative that you spend time with the Father.  Give Him the reins to lead, guide and direct your path.  As you continue to grow spiritually God will not only be your solution for emergencies, He will become your daily navigation system.  And believe it or not, when the emergency situations do arrive, you will be able to handle them so much better. 

Dear Lord,

I know that my past practice has been to come to you only when the situations are bad but today I am deciding to come to you for everything. Not only when I need something, but just to talk.  Just to thank you for your many blessings.  I want to spend more time in your Word so that I can also get to know you better.  So that your ways become my ways and your thoughts become my thoughts.  I want to continue to grow in you.  In Jesus' Wonderful Name Amen.