A busy Saturday afternoon on the A189, headed towards the coast road. Ahead, I could see that something was causing a problem for other drivers – braking, slowing, sudden overtaking…

As I got closer the cause became obvious. Seven sheep had escaped the safety of their field and decided a road trip would be a good idea.

Only, it wasn’t. As each vehicle braked or overtook, the more and more panic overtook them as they were driven more and more dangerously down the road.

Suddenly, in my rear-view mirror I caught sight of a quad bike, overtaking the column of vehicles as quickly and safely as was possible…the shepherd, with small son as a passenger, come to rescue his sheep.

He caught up, the traffic stopped, the shepherd whistled and called. At the sound of his voice the sheep stopped their panic-stricken dash and moved onto the wide grass verge. Encouraged by the shepherds voice they turned and began to make their way back towards the open gate, their field and safety.

There was a lump in my throat as I witnessed such a vivid enaction of something Jesus said in the New Testament

“But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.”

John 10:2-4 NLT

The Christian Community of which I am part is currently going through a very tough time. At yesterday’s service the visiting speaker brought a message from Psalm 46, especially verse 10:

“Be still and know that I am God! I will be honoured by every nation. I will be honoured throughout the world.”

Psalm 46:10 NLT

His wife felt that God specifically wanted her to share that God wanted us to know that he knows each of us by name. She reminded us of Mary Magdelene, in the garden on Easter morning:

“Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” [14] She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. [15] “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” [16] “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

John 20:13-16 NLT

When Jesus spoke her name, everything changed for Mary. She knew Jesus was alive! She knew he cared deeply about her and the other disciples.

Sometimes we can be a bit like that flock of sheep. Although we are full of faith, when the lorry of sickness overtakes us we run, filled with panic. When the car of financial pressure screeches to a halt behind us, we run just a bit faster. When the van of relationship struggles roars past we stampede. We are in danger of wearing ourselves out with sadness and weariness as we plead in prayer for those we love. We’re in danger of focussing on the difficulty and distress, of blaming the evil one who opened the gate to our suffering. Until…

…Until the good Shepherd arrives. Maybe he doesn’t speed up on a quad bike, but he knows how to capture our attention. He speaks our name, and we recognise his voice. We stop our headlong flight, we are still, and he becomes the focus of our eyes and hearts.

What is it that he says to my heart, to yours, at this time and for this situation? And as he comforts and directs us, what new comfort and direction are we able to offer each other? Will we discover that although nothing in our physical circumstances has changed, in our hearts everything is different.

As we focus on Jesus, perhaps one of the burdens that will be lifted is the realisation that when God says, “Be still and know that I am God”, he is also gently reminding us that we are not God, and we can’t fix it however much we may want to.

We continue to trust in Jesus, the one who can.