#229 | Hindrances to Effective Shepherding

While Pastor led us in worship as the meeting started, I saw a shepherd with two square-shaped, ebony-coloured, and heavy stones, placed on both shoulders (a stone was placed on each of his shoulders).

On one of the stones was written “Pride”, and on the other stone was written “Fear.”

Then, I heard:

“If you are already carrying these weights on your shoulders, how can you also carry sheep on your shoulders?”

I saw this shepherd trying to lead the sheep, but due to these heavy weights, he was struggling to move, and because of his slow progress rate, the flock of sheep following him could not also move quickly.

After a while of struggling and walking shakily under the weight of those stones, I saw the stone on which “Fear” was written fall on one of the sheep.

The effect was not that the sheep was crushed to death, as I thought it would because of how dense that stone looked, but the sheep grew extremely large—gigantically out of proportion.

After this, I saw the other stone on which “Pride” was written fall on another sheep following this shepherd. This stone did not crush this sheep either; rather, the sheep grew extremely small to a very miniature size.

Initially, I did not understand the latter part of this vision, but at a point, as the meeting continued, understanding dawned on me.

The sheep who grew extremely large when the weight of “Fear” from its shepherd fell on it was the result of shepherds who were too afraid or cowardly to correct or rebuke the sheep they lead.
They were afraid of taking full responsibility or stepping into their full roles as shepherds.
It made their journey with the sheep slower and a struggle; it made shepherding a burden that the Lord did not intend for it to be.

And the sheep, as a result of not being corrected or rebuked, grew very proud and rebellious, towering and overshadowing the shepherd, and now seemingly out of reach.

The sheep who grew very miniature, when the weight of “Pride” of its shepherd fell on it, is a result of the shepherd being overly authoritative—that the sheep is not given grace and chance to grow from its shepherd.

The shepherd went to the extreme in exercising his authority over the sheep that it squelched the ability of the sheep to grow or produce any wool—it shrunk the sheep into a state much lower than it should be.

I have an impression that this is the Lord warning us of two major things—Fear and Pride—that will stop us from being effective shepherds, thereby making the responsibility heavier than it should be.
Safety is in finding a balance between both states.

7th September, 2024
Sis. I.F.E.
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