Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

Psalm  23: 3 NLT 

3 He renews my strength. NLT

Cast sheep 

A sheep that has rolled over onto its back is called a "cast" sheep. It may not be able to get up without assistance. This happens most commonly with short, stocky sheep with full fleeces on flat terrain. Heavily pregnant ewes are most prone. Cast sheep can become distressed and die within a short period of time if they are not rolled back into a normal position. When back on their feet, they may need to be supported for a few minutes to ensure they are steady.

"As soon as I reached a cast ewe, my first impulse was to pick it up. Tenderly I would roll the sheep over on it's side. If she had been down for long, I would have to lift her into her feet. Then, straddling the sheep with my legs, I would hold her erect, rubbing her limbs to restore the circulation to her legs. This often took quite a little time. When the sheep started to walk again she often just stumbled, staggered, and collapsed in a heap once more.

When I read the story of Jesus Christ and examine carefully His conduct in coping with human need, I see Him again and again as the Good Shepherd picking up cast sheep.

And so He comes quietly, gently, reassuringly to me no matter when or where or how I may be cast down.

As with sheep, so with Christians, some basic principles and parallels apply which will help us to grasp the way in which a man or woman can be "cast."

There is, first of all, the idea for looking for a soft spot. The sheep that choose the comfortable, soft, rounded hollows in the ground in which to lie down very often become cast. In such a situation it is so easy to roll over on their backs.

In the Christian life there is a danger in always looking for the easy place, the cozy corner, the comfortable position where there is no hardship, no need for endurance, no demand upon self-discipline. " W.Phillip Keller 

Is it any wonder Jesus is referred to as "The Good Shepherd" and we are referred to as His sheep? We get comfortable in our walk with Christ, maybe a little lazy. We stop doing the things we should, letting our fleece get a little too long. Next thing we know we are down. We struggle, wrestle, flail. As hard as we try we cannot get up, not alone, not on our own. We need help. We need Jesus, The Good Shepherd. He lift us back up to our feet, restoring our strength, walking with us, carrying us if need be, until we are once again able to stand, walk and eventually run the race once again for Him.

Blessings, Cecilia