Have you ever seen a farmer trying to drive a bunch of geese from one location to another? He goes behind the geese, doesn’t he? Compare this to a shepherd who leads his sheep. He goes before them and the sheep simply follow him.
Jesus is our shepherd and we are His sheep. He does not drive us, but He leads us. Legalistic people drive others. Jesus leads. He goes in front of us. He is not like the sergeant who says, “Men, cross this river. I’ll cover you from behind,” because he suspects that the river is infested with crocodiles. Jesus is not that kind of leader. He goes in front of us.
In the Old Testament, Jesus led the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. Do you know how Jesus appeared back then? He appeared in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Where was that pillar? It was in front of them. In fact, the pillar of cloud shaded them from the hot desert sun so that they were kept cool during the day. At night, when the desert got very cold, Jesus, the pillar of fire, gave them light as well as warmth. Whether He was the pillar of cloud or fire, He went in front of them.
As long as they followed Him, the Israelites did not have to worry about anything. Jesus took care of all their needs. He gave them water when they were thirsty, and bread and meat when they were hungry. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. They were kept in good health throughout the 40 years of their wandering in the wilderness.
My friend, Jesus your shepherd wants you to just follow Him. As long as you allow Him to lead you, all your needs will be taken care of. He is your provision, healer, counselor, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification...He is everything you need Him to be!
"I'M HERE TO TELL YOU" EDITOR'S NOTE
Everything you need is right in front of you. What you don't need is your past. Learn from the past and then put it away. Your future is right there, just in front of you. So who are you going to trust in your future? Based on what you've done in your past, you should know better not to trust yourself. There are many who teach ways to learn to trust yourself for your own provision and many who teach techniques on how to trust yourself to take care of yourself. Listen. Haven't you learned by know, you don't know the answers, you don't know the way, you can't be trusted. Only Jesus knows the way. Heck, He is the Way. Simply know that the future is in His hands, not yours. Allow yourself to put aside any pride and just trust the One that knows better. Today pray that God will help you see that His Son, because of who He is, is the One, and the Only One to lead you into tomorrow.
