Day 232: The Sheep and the Shepherd

John 10:26-27

But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Here, Jesus had just been told by the Pharisees, “If you are the Messiah tell us.”  To which Jesus responded, “I did tell you, you just don’t believe me… Then He goes on to say, you are not my sheep, my sheep listen to my voice and I know them. We cannot follow Jesus if we do not listen to His voice. We cannot be a part of His flock if we don’t listen to Him. We can be sheep, but we choose our shepherd. We choose to follow Christ or not, and those of us who listen to His voice, are His sheep. If we aren’t listening to Christ and following Him we are not one of His sheep.

Before I go any further into today’s devo I want to first explore the relationship of the sheep and the Shepherd. There are so many mind blowing parallels as to how our relationship with God is synonymous to the relationship between the sheep and the Shepherd.

While researching I came across a blog post that put it all in perspective and dug deep into the meaning of these relationships and why it is so relevant for us as followers of Christ. There were a few things that stood out to me that I’d like to make note of.

“Guidance for the sheep. The Eastern shepherd never drives his sheep as does the Western shepherd. He always leads them, often going before them. “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them” (John 10:4). This does not mean that the shepherd is always in front of his sheep. Although he may be usually in that position when traveling, he often walks by their side, and sometimes follows behind, especially if the flock is headed for the fold in the evening. From the rear he can gather any stragglers, and protect such from a sly attack from a wild animal.”

The shepherd is a leader and protector of the sheep. He goes before them showing them the way, but He is always right there beside them. He is making sure that nothing can harm them. He’s protecting them as they go, and gathering the ones that seem to be straying away from the herd or wandering off. Sound familiar? This is how Jesus is to us, always by our side, He has gone before us and shown us the way and He is constantly leading us through life. Jesus isn’t going to let us get too far away from the flock because He’s right there to make sure that we get right back on track, and if we do get lost, he will come looking for us to bring us back.

“It is very important that sheep should not be allowed to stray away from the flock, because when by themselves they are utterly helpless.“

We cannot navigate through this world alone, we need Jesus. We desperately need Him. Without Him we are like lost sheep, we are wandering through this world with no direction, guidance, or hope, we’re lost. All of this is found in Christ, so apart from Him we are helpless, as the quote says.

I think another important message to learn here is that in order for us to follow Christ and listen to His word we must trust Him. The flock trusts the shepherd with their life, everything they are depends on the shepherd, they have learned to trust their shepherd and listen to His voice. They will not follow the wrong voice either. I believe that as followers of Christ, if we do not trust Him, we are wasting our time. When we don’t trust someone we hesitate to listen to them, we question everything they do, we will not give them a chance to be a part of our life. We cannot have a solid relationship without trust.

Another thing to note is that it is very important who we choose to follow here on earth. I’m talking about churches and pastors, especially when we are new Christians and we are looking for guidance. Ask God for discernment, because it is a dangerous thing to be led by someone who puts up a facade that they are leading you to Christ but leading the entire church astray. Be careful who you listen to and who you let influence you. At the end of the day you follow Jesus, and if someone is trying to lead you away from Him, they are not for you, no matter who they are or what they seem to represent.  

Reflection

1. Would you consider yourself a part of Christ’s flock?
2. Have you ever been led astray by your own doing?
3. Has anyone ever tried to lead you away from Christ?
4. Check your surroundings, and the people you call your leaders, are they leading you in the right direction?
5. If you are a leader, are you leading God’s people toward Him?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Ask God to give you the spirit of discernment and talk to Him about whatever is on your heart today.

If you have been led astray for whatever reason, now is the time to come back. Now is the time to rededicate or resubmit your life to Christ. Surrender to Him, ask Him to make you new. Know that He is standing there waiting with open arms, you’re not too far gone for Him to reach. You’re not a lost cause, Jesus loves you and He wants you near.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 233!