The Faithful Shepherd

 

 

One day, David had taken his sheep to graze among the mountains. All of a sudden, he heard one of the ewes cry out in anguish. He realized that she was in trouble, so he hurried to her aid. When he got there, he saw that she was thirsty and weak. But in order to quench the ewe’s thirst, David knew that he would have to run a long way to the nearest well, draw water for the ewe, and carry it all the way back in a heavy earthen cask. But David was not lazy, and he was unselfish, so he did what he needed to do and returned with water for the ewe.

 

Despite all of David’s good efforts, the ewe still had difficulty recovering. David knew just what to do. He had a secret weapon to help him with this problem and with everything else. He had emuna and he never gave up.

 

“There is no such thing in the world as despair,” he said to himself. “I just need to pray.” So he stood, eyes to the heavens, and prayed to Hashem, saying:

 

“Creator of the World, please have mercy on Your wonderful creatures! Heal them of all sicknesses!”

 

After he finished praying, David gently petted the ewe’s head. “Hashem will help, I’m sure of it,” he encouraged the ewe. As David cared for the sick ewe and helped her walk, he whispered in her ear, “Don’t be afraid, little sheep. I’ll stay with you and watch over you.”

 

Day by day, the ewe got better and better, until it finally recovered its strength. David was very happy, and he thanked Hashem for healing the sheep.