FOLDING YOUR FLOCK

“The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost . . .”
(Ezekiel 34:4).

I have been thinking much lately about the word “folding.” I’m not talking about folding clothes, although I’m sure you do plenty of that in your home. I’m not talking about folding papers, although we often do this when preparing for a celebration or doing a project.

I’m talking about folding your flock. The word “fold” is a noun and a verb. Our home is our fold. And in our home, we fold our flock. In Ezekiel 34 God uses this word allegorically. He talks about the literal people of Israel but likens them to sheep in a fold. He wants them to be in a “good fold” and “fat pasture” (Ezekiel 34:14).

The word “fold” is the Hebrew word “naveh” and is used 36 times in the Bible. It is used to describe home—God’s home, His temple. His holy habitation. A home for families. A home for flocks. A home for wild animals. God wants all His creation to enjoy a home. A lovely home. Yes, this word means “lovely, pleasant, satisfaction.” The mother who “tarries (naveh) at home” receives God’s blessings (Psalm 68:12).

Are you making a lovely fold? A fold where your children are safe. A healing home. A feeding home—feeding them good food, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. We cannot fold our flock part time. It is a full-time work. The true shepherd does not leave his flock. He is always with them—watching over them, protecting them, and feeding them.

God was angry with the shepherds of Israel because they did not feed their flocks. He says: “Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! (notice the exclamation mark!) should not the shepherds feed the flocks? . . . the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock” (Ezekiel 34:2, 8).

Where is your focus, dear mother? Are you feeding yourself? Feeding your own desires and ambitions? Feeding on material things? Feeding on that which is temporary? God wants you to put your emphasis on feeding and folding your flock.

He warns again in verses 3-8:

“You have not fed your flock,

You have not strengthened the weak,

You have not healed the sick,

You have not bound up the broken,

You have not brought back the strays,

You have not sought to go after the lost,

You have let your flock be scattered,

You have let your flock become a prey, meat to every beast of the field.”

All the above are part of our mothering and folding anointing.

Today, many precious children and young people are becoming a prey to all that is false and deceptive. They are brainwashed with feminism, humanism, and anti-God liberal agenda as they sit among the scoffers every day in public schools. They may have prayed the sinner’s prayer, go to church, but they think exactly like the secular humanists. All because we are not folding our flock.

Dear mother, among hundreds of descriptions, you are a nurturer, a nourisher, a feeder, a healer, and a FOLDER. Rise up in this anointing. Fold your flock today. Gather them around you. Gather them to your table to communicate with them, feed them, and pour God’s heart into them. Heal the gaps. Strengthen the weak areas. Draw them back from deception. Protect your gates.

Blessings and love from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, Thank You that you have given me a precious flock to protect in my fold. Help me not only to make a safe fold for my children but to fold my children with Your love and care. Help me to be a faithful shepherd, guarding them against all the deceptions and subtleties of this world system. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am strengthening the hedges of the fold of my home to give no place for the enemy to creep in.