Don’t Be Like Shrek!

Hiding is often our response to fear. In the natural world that isn’t necessarily wrong if the thing or person to be feared is bad. However, it isn’t a good thing to do if it’s our default action to most situations we come across. It becomes our coping mechanism, and we do it to try and control the situation, but it ends up controlling us.

Shrek was just your ordinary Merino sheep living in South Island, New Zealand. Usually Merino sheep have their coats sheared once a year, but Shrek, the sheep, hated nothing more than having his coat removed. And so he devised a plan to avoid shearing forever. He was going to escape and run away.

For 6 years (until 2004) Shrek’s escape proved successful after he got out of his enclosure, and made a break for it, spending his time hiding in local caves. Eventually Shrek was discovered, although he looked NOTHING like the Shrek his owners remembered. In fact, after 6 years without any haircuts, Shrek had enough wool to produce 20 large men’s suits.

Each year Shrek continued to grow the normal amount of hair for a Merino sheep, but since it was never shed or cut off, he was found with 6 times the average amount of Merino fleece. His fleece in total weighed around 60 pounds! Imagine how uncomfortable that must have been for him, but still he hid away.

We can shake our head with disbelief that Shrek could have done that. Yet many people are not that different from him. We run away and hide from a painful situation in the past. We pretend it never happened, and we want to ensure nothing like it will ever happen again. So just like Adam and Shrek we hide. Why? Because ‘I was afraid because I was naked’. We feel exposed.

Jesus has come to shear us of our false, heavy, debilitating self-protection – if we’re willing to let Him. He said He has come to set the captive free, to shine His light into the darkness of the past and to bring healing and wholeness.

Adam and Eve’s answer to feeling exposed included sewing fig leaves together. Our attempts at protecting ourselves are just as useless. Shrek hid away for 6 years. How many years have you hidden away; hidden your real self away, tried to ignore your fears and control your life to protect yourself? Just like Shrek the problem doesn’t go away – his actions resulted in his fleece becoming far too heavy for him and deeply matted. If you find the pictures of him on the Internet you’ll see that he almost disappeared into it.

Today will you allow God into the painful, hurting places? Will you give Him the VIP Pass to ‘access all areas’ in your life? He is gentle and loving and wants to set you free. He wants to remove all that false protection and give you His protection, so you can run to Him when you need to and no longer hide. Don’t be like Shrek! You’re meant to be free! ‘I have come that they might have life and life in all it’s fullness’. That sounds a good deal to me.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I recognise that I have hidden myself as a result of the pain of fear and exposure in the past. I realise now that, in the process of seeking to control situations, I myself have become controlled. I thank You that You’ve come to set me free and give me Your godly protection. I choose to give You access to all areas of my life. I want to be free! In Jesus’ name. Amen.