It is an amazing sight to watch sheep follow their shepherd. I had that privilege a few times in other countries. When a shepherd is leading his flock of sheep he goes ahead of them and leads them. It does not work well to try to drive sheep like you would drive cattle. Sheep become very bewildered and confused when you try to drive them.
I saw a video of a shepherd leading a large flock of hundreds of sheep down a mountain path. He went in front of them and kept talking and singing as he went. It is a great security to sheep if they can constantly hear the shepherd’s voice. They came down the mountain and at a certain point went on a very narrow path along a cliff. There was not much room for any miss steps. They all made it safely down to the corral for the winter.
This is why God calls us sheep. We are more like this animal by comparison than any other. We are created to follow the Good Shepherd. We are not really satisfied in life until we do. All true sheep know His voice and follow Him even when the path gets narrow and dangerous. They know He has their best interest in mind. They understand that He knows the future perfectly. They know the rough, narrow, dangerous path will ultimately lead to His further blessing and provision for the future.
Let There Be Life 