HE LEAVES THE 99

God is Worthy of being Defended

• Luke 15:4, from the words of Christ: “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost, until he find it?”

  John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

• I was never a farmer, although I grew up in deep farm/ranch country in south- central Oregon, around cattle, sheep, goats, potatoes, alfalfa, horseradish, sort of warrior plants and critters, high and cold elevation of 4100 feet,. Managing animal herds, especially critters like cattle, would likely be a blunt and visceral thing. I remember the intensity of cattle, especially the bulls...formidable animals and not to be taken lightly. I would not like to tangle with 1400 pounds of beef...

• Since plants can’t get up and move, it would land on the farmer to monitor his animal herds. If a cow or sheep got loose or separated from the herd, the rancher would certainly look for it, as that animal was livelihood and investment.

  The rancher or farmer had much to juggle. In addition to tending the plants, he was a watchman of sorts, keeping his herds from predators, hazards or theft.

• Many of us, self included, are wanderers, breaking down the fence that corrals us and demanding our “freedom.” Yes, freedom...to keep the roof and food and life basics, watching the price go up and up in the daily scramble, and gradually rethinking our ramble into the brambles, as thorns are SHARP. Duh!! Maybe, avoid the brambles! (Take it from me, one rueful bramble expert…)

• Rebellion is to a large degree, hard-wired into my country, the USA. Many of us told the British (”politely”...yeah, right), to depart, posthaste, we rather didn’t like the King overtaxing us and playing hardball with the thirteen colonies. It certainly took awhile...but they eventually formed the United States of America. (I am British by ancestry). While we are not that united, 250 yrs later, the history remains.

• The God of all creation and among His names, Jehovah, Adonai, Elohim, keeps watch over us wandering humans, and indeed dispatched Himself in the form of Christ as His only Son, to enter Earth as a helpless baby, to intercede for this sorrowful and disrespectful mob. Christ spoke of leaving the 99 sheep to look for the one lost sheep...as that is the core of the immense love of God, as He would care about the lost sheep! (I was once one!)

• I cannot comprehend such love and immense care for rebellious, disrespectful, messy, insolent humans who reject His love and care, demanding to do it “ my way”, and when “my way” leads to a rather dangerous muck of predators, seeking our demise and destruction, we attempt to stumble back. Just as a toddler demands what they cannot comprehend, we adults do the same thing. God is amazingly merciful and patient, as His desire is that none be lost and all come to repentance. He calls and calls and calls us to fellowship with Him.

• The mercy of God is so overwhelming! He really does “ leave the 99” sheep to seek and save the one lost one. That is exactly what Christ did and exactly what happened to me, after 35 years of rebellion and wandering from my Christian roots. I came Home, in disarray...but Home, nevertheless! No more wandering! I am still rebuilding and may be until God brings me Home.

• I was a severe rebel...and many of my friends of youth were as well. I think much of rebellion stems from a broken heart, from traumas and difficuties that do not get healed. They dig deep and fester and try to take over. This is not the work of God, this is the devil and he is a liar!

• I still remember a clash I had with a Home Economics teacher in high school. (Why I took Home Ec, I do not know...after one year...as I was not that domestic!) She and I disagreed about everything and one day, she exploded in anger at me (deserved...but...) and yelled that I resisted everything she said. This was true...but in my defense, she was also a control freak, pushing her view on all of us and did not know my own tale of grief speaking (loss of two immediate family members in two years, to sudden death, in early teens.)

• This is truly the core mystery of the Bible...why a holy God and perfect Being, would care about this mess of a place?? This is a core struggle I have had for so many years, just why does God still love me? I feel certain that others have the same tussle.

• The older we get, the more we gather difficult experiences, the more we can have hindsight, of the good paths we missed, the dark roads we took instead, the rebellion that nudged us into chaos. I know this intimately and hence why my return to God, from being a Prodigal (one who fled the Christian faith) is so poignant. I am not simplistic, I know the drama of humans. I lived it. I am not scolding or preaching. I am exhorting…”don’t do what I did!”

• I just turned 73, a gift my own Mom did not have (died at 54 in 1966) and my brother Tommy (Vietnam death, age 24, 1968), and my Dad, who left at 69. Only one older brother made it past me, to 78. I cannot tell you how many times I have begged God to “just bring me Home, I cannot do this...” I would not harm myself...and yet I long for my heavenly Home.

• My wise heavenly Father says to me, “Not yet, you have blessed work left to do.” This is part of the mystery of God, that He sees into Eternity and He sees what we cannot and He seeks our good instead of our bad. It is not “Godly ego” or arrogance...but the sheer opposite. With SO much love, He sent His Son to intercede for us and to open a pathway for us to get out of the dark.

• God is utterly worthy of being DEFENDED. He is accused of things He had nothing to do with. Easy to blame Him and refuse to take responsibility for the chaotic mess that WE caused, not Him. I am truly amazed at His forebearance and mercy, overwhelming!

• I admit, I do get indignant over all the stupidity aimed at God. I cringe at my own florid history. He offered us everything, our very breath of life. The union of sperm and egg brought us into reality and out of the spirit realm. We owe God everything!

• We can partner with Him and have an Advocate, Counselor, Advisor, Friend, Provider. There are none like Him. He is in the real world along with us and He can help in situations large and small. He actually cares...and He knows things we do not (things like “where’s my car keys??” etc. etc. times a million!)

• So...to get away from how we limit our limitless God:

  --Repent ( turn away) of sinful behavior and ask Christ to enter your heart and live with you as Your Savior!

  --Cast all your burdens on God’s mighty shoulders DAILY, do NOT carry that awful weight around, it does NOT belong to you!

  --Repent quickly when you miss it...as God does not demand perfection, but only a willing and humble heart, as He helps you through this life and into Eternity with Him!

  --Sincerely seek the unique GIFTS that God gave to you and begin to use them! God gave each of us gifts that are tailored just for us and unlike anyone else’s on earth. These are gifts that are natural to you, things you do without huge and overwhelming effort.

  --Ask for HELP daily! ( My favorite prayer is always “GOD, HELP!!!”) He does!

  --Grow gradually into a relationship with God. This is NOT “religion”, this is relationship, just as a child has with Dad and Mom! This is family!

  --Seek God daily and attempt to hear His good guidance! He does not lie, like the devil does, He always speaks the truth. He will not lead you astray.

• God is good! Check out these three songs, which wonderfully reflect the nature and goodness of God! I tried to input the hyperlink for each of these dear songs…but for some reason, it would not print here…so just go to search engine, write in the names as I have written below, and hopefully these will come up, they are worth the time:

  1. “Good Good Father” w/ Lyrics (Chris Tomlin). This is Chris singing alone, not with anyone else. No picture, just the song and lyrics.

  2. “The Goodness of God” Live, sung by Jenn Johnson from Bethel Music. Jenn is in a black t-shirt and her husband is playing acoustic guitar next to her.

  3. “Reckless Love” acoustic version, sung by Cory Asbury (where he is in a wintry field with his young son, singing in the cold winter air, this heartfelt song!)

  All three of these songs are heart-healing and tear-producing and feed your soul in amazing ways!

  Wendy Elizabeth Williams, Friday, November 14, 2025

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