“I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.” // John 10:11
We stood on the empty dance floor and listened to the instructor count out the time: One, Two, Three, One, Two, Three. The dancer in me felt the rhythm inherently, and I waited patiently for my fiancé to catch the beat. We muddled through the waltz with frustration as I tried to move us back in sync and step. The instructor stopped mid-song.
“There can only be one of you leading—one leading and the other following.”
I waited for him to tell my fiancé that I should be the lead because I had such amazing natural rhythm, but he did just the opposite. To my humiliation, he instructed me to stop fighting my dance partner and to relax. I was trying so hard to stay on rhythm that I was fighting the dance. A dance is beautiful when it is done together. It is syncopated movement, rather than a battle for control.
So too in the spiritual life. How deeply I desire for more syncopated movement with the Holy Spirit. But my pride and my desire for control sometimes destroy what could be a beautiful dance with the Lord. I need to simply relax and feel His arms around my waist, holding onto my hand, and tune out the beat of the world.
He is truly Our Good Shepherd. We know His voice, and He knows ours. He is the leader of our flock, and it is up to us to choose to follow or instead to try to lead ourselves. What areas in your life are you tempted to control rather than surrender to the Lord? How can you offer those to the Good Shepherd?
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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