I have learned something new about sheep that I will never forget!
Did you know that sheep can be so weighed down with the weight of their own fleece, or with the weight of their unborn lamb, they can lose their sense of gravity when they lay down and are not able to get back up? The term for this predicament is called “cast” or “cast down.”
As they wrestle and try to get back on their feet, they can literally end up flat on their back, isolated and helpless. Unless their shepherd intervenes and helps them stand back up, they are left prey to their enemies and in danger of dying from a heart attack within hours.
Haven’t we all, at one time or another, found ourselves flat on our backs with nowhere to look but up?
Weighed down by things such as bondage to addictions, mental torment, cares, sickness, woundedness from others, and grief from traumatic loss, we can become isolated from our brothers and sisters in Christ and open to the enemy’s continued devouring.
But thanks be to the Lord, our Good Shepherd! He is always willing to rescue us and present us with the opportunity of restoration.
He never sees us as unworthy of deliverance from the predicaments of this life. Unfortunately many of our brothers and sisters are so crushed in spirit, they cannot perceive the rope of rescue dangling right in front of them.
They have found themselves laying in a valley of dry bones.
Their spiritual strength has been drained and their desire for God has dried up. They no longer have a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
But we should not give up on these wounded warriors! In this upcoming season, God says He is going to breathe life into dry bones and bring the much needed deliverance and restoration. He knows the ones who desire wholeness but simply cannot get back up on their feet.
Let’s keep standing in the gap for our spouses, our children, our extended family, and our brothers and sisters in Christ who have lost their way. Pray and believe that God’s goodness will lead them back under the mighty hand of the Father!
Psalm 42:5 – “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help.”
Jeremiah 32:27 – “I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too difficult for Me?”
Ezekiel 37:1-6 “The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”
“O Sovereign LORD,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
Spend a few minutes listening to this song today and prophesy to the dry bones laying in ruin around you. Trust God for their restoration. He is willing and able!
After being convicted of the wounded warriors in the body of Christ, let this prayer be the cry of our hearts!
Oh Lord, I pray that I would never cause the sheep of Your flock to stumble and end up flat on their backs! I pray that my words and deeds flow from a spirit of love, considering others as better than myself and choosing to think the best of them, pursuing peace and not division. Enable me to walk in Your love, as I seek to put aside differences and cover the sins and frailties of my brothers and sisters, endeavoring foremost to keep unity between us so that You, Holy Spirit can move unhindered in our lives
Amen
Here is a video showing a shepherd’s rescue of a cast down sheep!