While there are many different kind of sheep, my preference for paintings are the black-face and Suffolk mostly because that is what my Grandfather raised on the farm. I always loved seeing the white wool with the black-face and black legs against the green in the summer pastures.
In the last few Life Palette posts, we’ve looked at the Truths that come from “A Challenge That Will Change Your Life“:
Truth #1: God Meets All My Needs
Truth #2: God Gives Me Peace
Truth #3: God Heals All My Hurts
Today I want to continue by looking at the 4th truth from the reading challenge. (If you’ve missed the prescribe reading be sure and get started, I guarantee this 30 day challenge will change your life!)
Truth #4: God Guides Me
Sheep have very poor eyesight. They cannot see more than fifteen yards in front of them. Therefore, they cannot tell if the path they are following leads to a cliff or a green pasture. (We often say someone is as blind as a bat…we should say they are as blind as a sheep.)
Like sheep, we cannot see the future. We don’t know what is going to happen this afternoon let alone next year, but we have a shepherd who sees it all. The Psalmist knew that and proclaims a wonderful truth for us as we follow Jesus The Shepherd: “He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” Psalm 23:3b
You face decisions everyday that leave you wondering which path you should take and God wants to direct you to make the right decisions. 20/20 hindsight is too late. You need to make wise decisions everyday of your life. Your choices are important. You win or lose by the way you choose!
When a dog gets lost, it has an incredible ability to find its way home. Sheep, however, have no sense of direction and no instinct for finding home. They desperately need the shepherd to guide them always. You may feel that way when you are making daily decisions at a crossroad in your life. Ask Him to lead you. Listen for His voice to direct you. Believe that He is guiding you. “He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” Psalm 23:3b
Prescribed Reading:
In the morning, Read Psalm 23 in silence when you first arise. Read carefully and slowly. Don’t rush through it so that you can say with fidelity that you did it. Instead, let the truth of each phrase capture the attention of your heart, mind and spirit. Read it again in like manner at noon. Read it once more just before going to bed at night, only this time read it out loud. Do this for thirty days consecutively and let nothing come between you and this transformation process. As Paul says in Romans 12, you will be a transformed into a “New person by changing the way you think.”
Don’t Miss A Post:
To make sure you get all of the Psalm 23 posts, Changing The Way You Think, subscribe to Life Palette blog and receive it daily in your email. Friday’s post will include another of my sheep paintings and Truth #5 from Psalm 23.
Check out this song, by Jon Foreman, entitled The House of God Forever. This song is based off of Psalms 23 and will help to show you God’s love and the peace he gives you.