Encouragement

Encouragement

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:11, NIV

The idea of being downcast took on new meaning to me when I learned more about sheep and their habits. A “cast” or “cast-down” sheep is one that has turned over on its back and cannot get up. It lies on its back with its feet in the air, and no matter how hard it tries to get up, it has no success. Sometimes it will bleat, but it continues to become more frightened and frustrated.

A sheep becomes downcast when it lies down and its center of gravity shifts so that its feet no longer touch the ground. At this point the sheep frequently panics, realizing that it is impossible to regain its footing on its own. In the heat of the summer, a cast-down sheep can die in a few hours. In cooler weather it might survive a few days. Shepherds are constantly on the lookout for this problem, and that is one of the reasons they count their sheep and search for any that are missing.

We too sometimes become downcast when our center of gravity shifts and we cannot get our feet back on the ground. Only our shepherd can stand us upright and get our blood circulating again. He doesn’t rush toward us with a rod to beat us, but he tenderly sets us upright and longs for us to choose to follow him. What a kind shepherd we have!

Father,

Thank you that you are our Good Shepherd, who deals with us tenderly. Thank you that you don’t give up on us when we become downcast. Please help us to follow your example and to deal tenderly with our children. Amen.