His gentle leading

"He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
He gently leads those that have young."
Isaiah 40:11

My evening devotional time led me to this passage this week.  I was particularly struck by the last line, "He gently leads those that have young." 

So I did some more research, and I found a reference back to this passage in Genesis when Jacob is returning to his brother Esau.  It reads: "But Jacob said to him, 'My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young.  If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die.'" Gen 33:13.

I looked through some commentaries as well and found it interesting to note that it was apparently a well-known fact that young animals, and the mothers caring for them, needed to travel at a slower pace so that they didn't become over-tired and exhausted to the point of death.

To know that God, as our great Shepherd, cares for us the same way -- cares for me, as a mother, the same way -- is extremely comforting.  He is gently leading me through life at a slower pace so that I will have the energy I need to focus on my precious little ones.  I don't have to climb tall mountains in a single day or run marathons in record time because I have small children that I need to take care of.

He knows that.  And He is caring for me in a special way right now, at this time in my life, so I can do just that.