Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. Mark 9:35-36
My words…
Praise
Lord, did you ever get tired of people begging, cajoling, ridiculing, grasping, weeping, crowding? Weren’t You annoyed when they followed You around wherever You went? Didn’t the heat and the smell get to You after a while? Did You ever want to scream, “Leave me alone?” No. I suspect You didn’t. You didn’t see them as people. You saw them as sheep without a shepherd, so You did what You do best: You gave them one.
Prayer for me
I often associate a term to people, but I’ve never called them sheep. I usually tag them with names like whiner, idiot, distracted driver, and that’s when I’m being easy on them. People can be so infuriating. I need to see them as You do. Will you please help me?
Forgive me
I have been working and failing at making assumptions and judgments about people. I assume they are treating me unfairly because they are selfish when really they’re just broken or lonely or desperate. I doubt if they even realize what they’re doing. Forgive me for my failings. I’m still working on it.
Prayer for others
When I stop, really stop and take a long look at the people around me, I see why You call us sheep. I see the bone-weary single parent, the college student whose father murdered her mother, the homeless guy with the cardboard sign, the 20-year-old with cerebral palsy who has never used her legs, the mother who cries over her son’s drug addiction, the veteran waking from horrifying nightmares. They’re weary and worn out. Comfort them with your rod and your staff.
Thank You
Thank You for Your example of compassion. You must be so filled with it to share it the way You do, but it never runs out. So many sheep – so much compassion.
More Praise
You are the God of the people. I can see You in my spirit’s eye, walking with a toddler on your hip to give the mother a rest, fixing the sandal strap of a rambunctious boy, teaching a young man how to drive a nail with a hammer, singing silly songs with teenage girls, answering the incessant questions of an old cynic, drawing water from a well for an aged woman. Your love went much deeper than skin deep, or should I say fleece deep.
