"The Hireling"

 "But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereh the sheep." (John 10:12 KJV)

  ""Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink - even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk - it's all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food."" (Isaiah 55:1-2 NLT) 

 It might not seem as though it works, but if there is one thing I have found, (sometimes the hard way,) God's ways are not the ways of the world! Yes, Jesus is speaking of Himself; but I believe that He is also speaking about something extraordinary, something that makes a man or woman of God take notice, as if to say, 'No, this is important enough to not run away, but to take God at His Word!' 

 There are several things that might have the ability to weaken me, mostly they involve my own foolish desires or mistakes. But the things which weaken me the most, are the things that I place between me and God! These things can be objects, or the simple ideas which distract me from listening to God's voice; but the things which weaken me the most, are the notions and thoughts that try to convince me that God is not or will not protect and watch over me, even if it looks as if there is no hope! 

 I hope I made some sort of sense, because I do tend to get rather emotional; specially when it comes to this topic: Trusting in God! Silly me! I lose the strength I think that I might have and forget that it was never mine to begin with, as if it was me doing what kept the world around me from falling apart. 

 In this verse we have before us today, I believe that God is showing me the difference between someone that cares for what God cares about, and someone that only really cares about himself. I can't help but think about Jesus in that garden, as He prayed, "Not my will, but thine be done!" It was not as if He didn't want there to be another way, because He clearly asked, "If there is another way!" 

 We might be stuck in something where there simply appears as though there is no way out. No matter if that is some illness, where the doctor says you have no chance of recovery, a divorce that appears as though there is no way to save the marriage, or maybe something less serious, like your finances are up-side-down and it looks like everything is going to be lost.

 Whatever the issue might be, God is bigger, better, and strong enough to take you through that, getting you safely to the other side! The other side of what? What is it that would cause the hireling to flee and leave the sheep to be scattered? There is only One to fear, and He is not the wolf...

"But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen." (Hebrews 10:39-11:3 NLT)