How the animals moan with hunger! The herds of cattle wander about confused, because they have no pasture. The flocks of sheep and goats bleat in misery. Joel 1:18
A few weeks ago I wrote a devotion about a goat that lived on the property next door getting caught in the fence and I had to free it. But I was reminded this week that the story didn’t end there when I was talking with someone about praying for and checking on new Believers. In other words discipling them. I was reminded how I made it part of my daily routine to walk the fence line to see if she was stuck in the fence. And sure enough for three day in a row she was stuck at the same place. As Soon as she would hear my voice and saw me she would quiet down. She was learning I wasn’t there to harm, but help her. With just a few reassuring words, she would let me twist her head and neck to see her free and in not time at all she was on her way and so was I.
But while focusing on her, I walked right passed another goat, this one on her knees flat against the ground and her tan color blended right in. She was so weak her bleating could hardly be heard. As I approached her, with what little strength she had left she was struggling to get away from me, and her cry became very painful in sound. This goat didn’t know me as her rescuer, and hard as I tried, she was resisting me and hurting herself. So I stopped and began to sing the chorus of “oh, How I Love Jesus” and it worked! Now she relaxed, let me turn her head and she was free, but still not moving. She had been there so long her legs were cramped up. So I massaged them and sat with her and gave her some of those tasty flowering weeds she was after. In about fifteen minutes she was up and soon running, but stopped and turned around to shake her ears in thanks.
God showed me that in Scripture some times the goats were referred to as the unsaved and we the “saved” need to go to them and help them mee their nees, even if we do it more than once. He showed me that sometimes we are so focused on a certain person or groups of people, that we miss someone who is in more trouble and misery. We need to keep our eyes open and be alert to everyone around us. Just because someone isn;t crying out for help, doesn;t mean they don’t need it. This little goat didn’t begin to bleat until she saw me help another one. Todays verse reminds us that poeple all around us are confused, looking for a place to find some thing that will fill that empty void in their life. They are hungry for unconditional love and rest. Is there someone around you who might be in misery, but isn’t crying out because they don’t see anyone who’ll help? Ask God to open your spiritual eyes to the needs of others, you might be surprised what and who He shows you.
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