Just pondering over how strategic the adversary is...
We met a righteous man once, who was very clearly striving to be holy and encouraged the same. It was something very peculiar about his presence. He wasn't perfect, but his heart was unique in this generation. He was humble. He was a leader wrestling with a thorn in his flesh. Not long after we met him, he befriended an elder slightly older than himself. A few months later, the elder that befriended him, "ironically" or "coincidentally" took his place. The gate that the righteous man once guarded was now guarded by the "elder friend." Some of the things the righteous man protected the fold from was later welcomed in with moderate to no resistance. The people suffered. Perhaps he didn't know that the thorns that kept him humble, also protected the sheep. However, his suffering, discomfort, and other trials seemed to lure him away from his station. Maybe in the heat of his agony he forgot that a shepherd uses thorns to create a barrier or pin around the sheep. Maybe he forgot that a shepherd sometimes has to lay his own body in the gap (gate) of his makeshift pin to guard the sheep. It's a proven method... unless the thorns are in his own flesh... then he must wrestle with himself to use his pain to benefit those under his charge. That's easier said than done. My heart hurts for the upright who are tired and in pain.

#waitingontheconclusion