A Shepherd’s Heart
“A baby deer is caught in our fence!” Heather called to her husband, Tim. He gently set it free, but its mother was nowhere to be seen.
That afternoon Tim saw a herd of deer emerge from the woods and graze nearby. One doe seemed especially alert. Wondering if she was the fawn’s mother, Tim looked up a recording of a fawn’s distress cry on his mobile phone and played it loudly over the speaker. The doe began to follow him, and he led her to where the fawn was nestled away. The fawn immediately began to nurse; freedom had been obtained, mother and baby were reunited—all thanks to Tim’s gentle shepherding.
God is even more intentional in caring for His people and providing the freedom we need. The people of Israel had stumbled in their sin and were trapped in exile in Babylon. Yet God promised, “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them” (Ezekiel 34:11). Because Israel’s leaders had allowed them to be “scattered” (v. 12), God said, “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays” (v. 16).
Believers in Jesus see God’s ultimate care in His search and rescue mission for us. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep,” Jesus said (John 10:11). When we were lost in our sins and captive to them, He chose to rescue us at great cost. On this day and all days, freedom is precious. Let’s celebrate the Good Shepherd, who has set us free!
By: James Banks - Our Daily Bread Ministries
Ezekiel 34:1-2, 11-16
34 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
