The Lord is my Compass

     “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.  Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”  Matthew 9:35-38


     “Like sheep without a shepherd…”  Sheep are not the brightest of animals…not by a long shot.  Have you ever observed them?  I have.  Mostly, they stay close to the rest of the herd.  You’ll still find those that easily wander away from the rest and have to be coaxed back in.  Do you remember the parable of the lost sheep? (Luke 15).  Yes, they are prone to getting lost, easily.  I look at them and they just appear to be mindless creatures, to be nudged along and driven.  They would truly be in trouble without a shepherd nearby.  They need someone that is being mindful.  Someone that is paying attention to everything.  Someone who can account for every single one of them and knows when one has strayed away from the herd. 
     While we are not as mindless as sheep, do you wonder why we are compared to them?  Same reason.  No matter how intelligent or focused we are, without our Shepherd, we are just wandering around, with no sense of direction.  No purpose of belonging.  For that, I am thankful that “The Lord is my Shepherd” and I am truly without want, when He is near.  Though I am a very deep-minded person, grounded with maintaining a sense of purpose, I am just lost and walking without a path to follow.  I am like a bird that has lost its ability to navigate via the earth’s magnetic field.  I would be no better than a bad that could no longer use echolocation, or “sonar”, for sense of direction.  The Lord is my very own, personal GPS!  I need Him to navigate!  Plain and simple.
     Now, I still like the “old school GPS”.  You know, that thing called a compass.  I utilize one every time I am out on a hiking trip.  I’m not a natural with it, I admit; however, I like the practice that I get from using it.  The more that I use it, the better I get with it.  The same is said of the “compass” that God gives to us.  We just need to open it up, read it, utilize it, and we can become more proficient with it.  Only then will it be easier to stay on course, to keep from getting lost, like a sheep.
     Let God be your Shepherd.  He will search for you, should you get lost, and bring you back in His arms.  Use the compass that is His Word, to guide you and keep you on the pathway that God has set before you.