<p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Getting Spiritually Unstuck</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Barb Roose</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Today’s Truth</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need (Psalm 23:1 NLT).</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Friend to Friend</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">On his way home from school, a young Russian boy noticed a lamb trapped head down in a drainage ditch. He went home and asked his mother to come back and help him get the stranded animal free. Azieva Radima went back to the trench with her son. As he worked to free the lamb, she pulled out her camera to capture the ordeal. It was a pretty good size lamb and the young man managed to pull the animal out of the narrow opening. Then, the freed lamb hopped away.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">But three hops later, it dove headfirst right back into the ditch.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Millions of people around the world have laughed at Radima’s viral video about the lamb that immediately trapped itself again. Thousands have shared funny, but poignant insights as they relate to the animal’s struggle.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">“Getting back together with your ex is like…”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">“When your friends try to help you move on, but...”</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">“Not everyone is ready to be rescued...”</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">“Hate that I can relate.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">I could also see myself in that lamb. One of the fastest ways to find ourselves stuck after experiencing freedom in Christ is returning to chasing satisfaction apart from God. This isn’t a salvation issue, but it can create a painful stuck issue. The good news is that God is gracious and merciful to pull us out of those stuck places when we call for help.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">A former shepherd, King David pens Psalm 23 with observations about God as our Good Shepherd. As Israel’s king, David was subject to no one and quite wealthy. Yet he recognized that for everything that he possessed and controlled, David did not have ultimate control. Today’s Truth captures King David’s acknowledgement that God was the sole provider of everything in David’s life and David wasn’t in search of any other satisfaction.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">In this popular psalm, David uses sheep as a teaching tool and metaphor for us. We’re reminded that sheep don’t stress out or strive for their care. They simply trust and follow their shepherd who will provide for them.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">That sounds a little too easy for us as humans, doesn’t it? Yet, imagine what your life would look like if you woke up knowing that God will provide what you need. To be clear, there is a difference between being expectant and having expectations. When we’re expectant, we are confident that something will happen, but we’re not fixed on what the specifics of the outcome will look like. Conversely, expectations look like the picture in our mind of how something should play out and usually, the outcome should be minimally inconvenient or uncomfortable.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Do you think that sheep have expectations about what kind of water or grazing they’d experience each day? No, Mr. Shepherd. We were hoping for a water source a few degrees cooler than this. Can you make that happen instead? Instead, the sheep were expectant, not forceful, or fearful. They only knew to rely upon their shepherd. Maybe we could learn a little from the sheep here about confidently trusting our Good Shepherd.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Can you recall times when you panicked or spent a sleepless night stressed out over a situation? Perhaps you remember a time after you’d stressed yourself out and God came through with a solution and you felt (forgive me for this) sheepish?</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Life comes with some wild up and down swings. Yet, there are moments when God sends tangible reminders that he is working and active in our lives. Remaining expectant looks like a confident mindset that God will provide an expression‎ of himself whether it’s sending someone with a word of godly encouragement, a Holy Spirit whisper of hope or comfort, a bit of wisdom to illuminate a problem, that way that God extends time to accomplish what couldn’t possibility be accomplished in our own capabilities.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Is there a circumstance in your life today where you need to pray: “God, You have all that I need”? Take a moment right now to express that to God. When you are faithfully expectant, God will always be enough.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Let’s Pray</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">God, today I will live with an expectant heart and let go of my expectations of how and when things should happen. You are the Good Shepherd and will take care of me in every area of my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.</span></p><p> </p>
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