Isaiah 53:6

 ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 
       each of us has turned to his own way; 
       and the LORD has laid on him 
       the iniquity of us all.

Tonight, when at agility, I was reminded of the danger of sheep that run astray...Sammy's instructor had returned after a three week absence.  The cause?  Herding!  Doug had taken his Aussie, Boomer, to go do some herding.  They've done it before.  But Boomer, like a lot of boy dogs, got excited and drove into the sheep, and the sheep ran into and over Doug.

This helps me to understand these words from Isaiah, because sheep are, I hate to say, not very smart at all.  Without leadership, they run amuck, without any real sense of direction.  It isn't any particular wisdom that makes them do this - they just do it - because they are sheep!

Without a Great Shepherd, we are all like sheep - dangerously out of control, running about aimlessly, without a sense of purpose.

There are days I feel a bit "aimless" - and even other days I feel a bit "dangerous."  But today I am thankful that there is someone who knows a bit better than me what I can do with my life and who listens, waits and watches with me, and guides me on my way.