The story of the shepherd seeking his lost sheep became very, very real to me that night, and I'm not ashamed to admit that those stupid lost hens brought me to tears of humility. Do we not do the same to our Heavenly Father? He shows us green fields, and we race back to the emptiness of what's familiar… even those with years of experience in walking with God, we can be caught unawares. All of us, at some time or another, stray away from God's best, and need the Shepherd to come find us.
God will expose the pride in our lives to us… we can humble ourselves and be lifted up by Him. Or, we can choose to cling to our selfish pride and self-destruct our own lives!
Lately my dog has been doing a pretty good job of keeping me humble. Whenever I am tempted to lose patience with him, I am halted by the thought that God is so incredibly patient with me. I'm reminded of my own shortcomings…
Our clothing consists of hearts that are tender and filled with compassion displaying mercy; human-kindness that overflows to meet the needs of others; a humble preference to put others first; a meek, spirit-controlled temperament; and the willingness to go the distance with others without complaint-these are the new clothes.