The Importance Of A Herd

Often times we know that the Lord is our Shepard.(Psalms 23:1 NLT) This makes me think of people of God being in a herd. We also know that we are supposed to help our neighbors(Proverbs 3:28 NLT) and love our neighbors as we love ourselves..(Luke 10:27 NLT)..What does it mean to be in a herd to you? Everyone is on their own journey and is responsible for their own relationship with God. There are times where we are supposed to help each other when we are able and we gain strength through fellowship and pushing each other to do better in our walk with Christ. So what does being in a herd mean to you?

As for myself, I can admit, being in a herd with others didn't really have an impact on my life at first because I was looking through the eyes of the world and not through God's will. To be more frank, I wasn't trying to lean on the godly standpoint when it came down to being surrounded by many people. This was simply because I have had a tough time in the past dealing with people and this is where almost all of us might mess up at. We put the masks of the past on the faces of  the future. I was used to being rejected, used, and mistreated so I really didn't know how to react when God placed genuine people in my life. Can we just praise God for change y'all? It took time for me personally but eventually I began to open my heart up to the love of the people of God and I began to see the importance of being in a herd. There's always leaders and different personalities and characteristics in herds and that's what makes the Body of Christ so special, especially when there is order! Order is a necessity in a herd! Everyone is different but we all get on one accord and now I can honestly say that my heart is no longer hardened by the past and I have come to love the herd I have been placed in.

Being in a herd isn't always easy, we all have different things we deal with and that we war against. Sometimes pride might sneak in and stop us from confessing a wrong doing to one another or keep us from asking for genuine help because of imaginary embarrassment. Sometimes it could be jealousy that tries to slip through the cracks of a broken heart when someone else gets what they prayed for quicker. Sometimes we deal with things behind closed doors and we don't want to talk about it because of fear that tries to creep in on our minds, blocking us from freedom and deliverance. Often times people can take advantage of each other, if we know that someone has came through for us before, manipulation can try to slide through our hearts and make us only reach out to others when we need them to do something just because, then we put them on the back burner in our minds and prayers. Then there's the favorites game that tries to pop its head up and this is something that has hurt me in the past and it USED to hurt me in the present time BUT GOD. When people played favorites in front of me, it honestly took me to a dark place especially when it was between me and my husband. A husband and wife are one and I couldn't seem to grasp the whole point of this favorites game. I had to get out of that mindset, not care about imaginary attacks, and just trust God. I didn't want to bring any harm to my marriage. That stuff USED to sit on my heart so heavy y'all BUT GOD!!! I had to get delivered from people and their opinions! I had to put my FLESH to the side! I can put myself out there because I am now a new creation. I wasn't always the sweetest, when somebody wronged me, I had a bad habit of holding grudges which eventually turned into resentment and unforgiveness to the point where negative thoughts rushed into my mind when hearing a name or seeing a face. PRAISE GOD FOR BROKEN HEARTS THAT ARE NOW MENDED AND DELIVERANCE! I could've went down a very dark road BUT GOD! Now if someone does wrong by me, I just remember what Proverbs 12:16 says and keep it moving! Daily, in a true herd we are to pray for discernment and to repent daily and confess when we have done wrong. We are to be quick to repent!

In a herd there is fellowship that take place and through fellowship you find strength and courage through one another, you can also find confidence and a strong foundation in Christ to build you up whether you feel weak or unmotivated. Fellowship truly brings life to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Forgiveness is often found throughout a herd for if we call ourselves being Christ Like then we should be acting like Christ, whether people receive us or not. So we are to forgive each other wholeheartedly and the Holy Ghost will always give us instructions on how to handle a person or how or when you should engage in social activity with a person, as well as always keeping your discernment up. In a herd, we don't want to drain each other dry for our own selfish desires or play favorites with each other for we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Now I know we can come across people who live in a competitive or reprimand mindset but again we should be using wisdom and discernment and our full trust should be in the Lord our God for man will let you down!

Learning how to pray for others and their blessings is necessary, if you find yourself in a place where you think this is challenging then it's time for a heart check! Ask God to show yourself to you. Things will try to come at us to keep us from loving people and being genuinely happy for others when they receive blessings and their prayers are answered. It's necessary to keep praying for others! Even praying for the people who might have hurt you. It's not easy because when you think about people who have hurt you and negative thoughts roll in, it's time to get on your needs and repent and ask God to mend your broken heart. Broken hearts aren't always caused by romantic relationships, they're also caused by family members, failed friendships, current friendships and so much more. Often times we can break our own hearts by doing something we know isn't God's will because it is our flesh. Just recently, my heart was mended and in order to keep it that way, I have to deny myself constantly, not care for the approval of people, repent daily and keep my trust in God. Praying for others is part of being a believer and there's power in prayers especially when they are for other people. Don't forget to pray over your leaders and herd.

Being in a herd means to look out for one another, use wisdom when you are being lead to correct someone and to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ. It's about building each other up instead of tearing each other down. It's about showing love throughout the herd equally. It's about going to God first when someone has wronged you and not by falling into the jaws of gossip. It's about shutting down ungodly conversations of one another and recognizing the good in others. It's about being genuinely happy for each other and each other's blessings. Being in a herd means to to teach and learn from each other, telling our testimonies to each other, to give someone hope in their own situations. It's about being an example of a believer and challenging each other to become stronger believers of Christ. Covering each other in our personal prayers through the good times and bad. This is the importance of a herd. As Always:

Stay Blessed & Encouraged:)