There is a familiar story of a lamb caught in a thicket and struggling frantically for release, only to become more thoroughly entangled in the brambles. The shepherd came to the rescue, but stood quietly waiting until the lamb ceased his struggles, whereupon he stretched out his rod and drew it to safety. It is a simple story, but it deserves careful consideration, since it contains a deeply valuable lesson. What was it that made the lamb cease his frightened efforts to escape? Had he become exhausted from exertion and fear, or had he given up in despair? There may have been a simple reason: he had become aware that the shepherd was at hand. He may have looked up and beheld the kindly figure with its evident willingness to help, and known that the shepherd could be trusted to release him. His vain efforts were ended when he recognized his deliverer.
To those who are perplexed, this story brings a helpful message. Many of us have known what it means to become entangled in the brambles of mortal belief. We have felt the pricks and the tenacious clutch of its tendrils. Its subtle twists have engrossed and baffled us. We have become bruised and bewildered in our struggles to escape through material means. And then we have become suddenly aware of the divinely gracious presence of our Father-Mother God, who has been inseparably close to us in all those moments when we were so absorbed in our unhappy plight that we did not look up to behold Him.
Now as we turn to Him we begin to realize His tender care for all, His unfailing nearness, and His consummate ability to heal and to bless. With this discernment comes the cessation of our vain struggle to overcome error by our own unaided efforts, and we look to divine Mind for the perfect solution. Thus we learn that the way to drop our burdens is found in looking to God and recognizing Him as our divine deliverer. To our steadfast gaze there unfolds such a revelation of the nature of God, as infinite good, that we spontaneously and wholeheartedly trust in Him. In this great trust we accept His deliverance—the method of divine intelligence rather than of human groping—just as the lamb, trusting in the shepherd, was lifted out of the brambles.
