What does the sheep say?

Today I was going back through my journal and reading entries from before I moved to Colorado. Don't let me fool you - I've never really been a journaler or a writer. My journal goes all the way back to 8/28/2011... Impressive huh?

It was interesting to reread my thoughts leading up to my year out west. I don't really remember having these thoughts or prayers, as I have a hard enough time remembering what I had for lunch yesterday. The 8/30/2011 entry goes like this... 

'Dear Frank (because every journal deserves a name), 

     One thing I pray will happen - As I'm drawn out of my comfort zone, that I will become more reliant on God for strength and comfort. Over the years I've become self-sufficient and comfortable with the life I have in Jax....'

     At the bottom of the page I wrote: 'Prayer - Reliance on Him'

Pretty much nailed that one. 

The overarching theme of the past few months has been God breaking me of my worldly comfort (most times against my will and with a vacuum in hand). I probably sound like a broken record by now, but I'm pretty stubborn. God has been showing me over and over to trust in Him, and that he is the source for true strength and joy. I get glimpses of this comfort, but it seems like I forget just as quickly as I remember. 

I think there's a reason for my grace amnesia.

First of all we are all sinners and fall short of our expectations. But also, the Bible gives us some insight of how smart we humans really are... The word 'sheep' is used in the Bible 196 times. That's a lot of times for such an insignificant word. As a frame of reference, the word 'love' is used 683 times. Seems like a lot of sheep right? The word sheep is mostly used to describe us. Yes, there are many times where it's used to actually describe animals in the Bible, but mostly it's our doppelgänger. Sounds great, right?

- 'But he who enters the door is the shepherd of the sheep.'

- Jesus says 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me'.

- Jesus says to Peter, 'Feed my sheep'

A few quotes from the Wikipedia entry on sheep...

- 'Sheep are prey animals' 

- 'Sheep are frequently thought of as extremely unintelligent animals.'

- 'Sheep are just below pigs and on par with cattle in IQ'

Sheep. are. dumb. But as always, there's good news about our inability to fend for ourselves. The 196th time that 'love' is used in the Bible is in Psalm 91:14

¹⁴"Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
   I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵When he calls to me, I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble;
   I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation."

We love Him because he loved us first. We need to come to grips with our sheepish nature... And also rest in who we belong to.