Therefore I am not too proud to be happy to be a sheep. Sheep are humble enough to know that they need some guidance to be healthy and strong. When they're in unknown territory, they don't mind being led. When they're thirsty and hungry, they know they'll be watered and fed. They survive and thrive because they're simple enough to listen to only one voice: their shepherd's. In short, sheep are humble. Simple. Wise.
I am never alone. Some have said they fear that God sees everything they do, knows everything they say. I don't think of God as an unwelcome stalker. For me, God's Presence is my personal Shepherd, unwavering in support and love and concern.
My Shepherd God neither deserts me nor falls asleep. When my Good Shepherd calls to me, I recognize a beautiful, unforgettable voice. Where my Guide leads me, I am unafraid to go, unafraid to act, unafraid to speak. If I am wounded, my Guardian bandages me. If I am lost, depressed, enmeshed in sin, my Protector God searches for me, finds me, and carries me home. When I am exhausted, my gentle Shepherd finds me safe places to rest.
When I worry about my loved ones, my Shepherd God reminds me "I myself will pasture My sheep...I shall be a true shepherd to them." (Ez. 34:15-16.) I cannot be anxious, or over-responsible, when I recognize God's Providence. There is only One Who knows the way, across deserts, over mountains, through the darkest valleys of the soul. Only one. And it's not me. I'm just a sheep. My loved ones are other sheep too, secure in the Good Shepherd's Hands.
Since Old Testament times, God's Name for God's Self is "Good Shepherd." No other name for Jesus can mean as much, then, as "Passover Lamb," the Lamb of God. In being called "Lamb," Jesus truly became a sheep, just like us, docile in His Father's Hand, listening only to His Good Shepherd's Voice, following His guidance all the way to the cross. And then beyond, into the sublime Green Pastures of Paradise.
Since the Lamb of God has become our Good Shepherd, we know He knows the way we must go. We can safely follow Him, and be fed, be watered, be bandaged, be rescued, be above all else, loved. With Jesus as Protector and Guide, we can eventually travel even through the darkest valley, into the sublime Green Pastures He has personally, lovingly prepared for us.