“And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jer. 3:15)
Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
God promised that He would give us shepherds whose hearts are like His. He wants to fulfill that promise in our lives. These shepherds are a sign of God’s true love and care for us. Because they carry the heart of God, they will be channels of revelatory knowledge and spiritual understanding God is releasing for the times in which we live.
What does God’s shepherding heart look like? A story has been told about shepherds who break the legs of wandering sheep and then carry them until they can walk again. Supposedly it will form a bond between that sheep and its shepherd.
It may be true that somewhere a crazy, mad man beat a wandering sheep so viciously that he broke its legs, but that is not the way shepherds tend sheep. It would not endear the animal to the shepherd. Animals are not stupid, including sheep.
It is certainly not true of the Lord. Luke 15 tells the story of how God deals with sheep who wander away. If a sheep gets lost by chance, God leaves all the healthy sheep to look for it. Then, everybody rejoices when the sheep returns home. The passage does not say, “Then the Lord broke the legs of the sheep who wandered away.” No, he gave it a welcome home party.
If a sheep wanders purposely, as in the story of the prodigal son, God searches and waits for his prodigal to return. He then celebrates the return.
How do you become a shepherd with a heart like His? I believe it is found in receiving the anointing of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” The key to unlocking all the blessings found in Psalm 23 is making the Lord your shepherd. The Living Bible Paraphrase says, “Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!”
When the Lord is your Shepherd, you may not have everything you want, but you will have what you need. But know this: The Lord is very extravagant in taking care of needs. He looks at needs differently than we do. David said, “My cup runs over.” (Ps. 23:5) You can have everything you need with plenty to share. God doesn’t want us consumed with making our life work to the point that we don’t have room in our hearts for others.
Does this mean we will not experience hardship and loss? No, I wish it did. There are times when we must “Walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” (Ps. 23:4) A shadow can’t harm you, but it can intimidate you and make you want to run and hide. If you allow it, the shadow will rob you of your identity, purpose and joy.
The key words are “walk” and “through.” Like many of you, I have walked through some devastating and heartbreaking times. There were days I wanted to run and hide and days I just wanted to lie down and give up, but I wouldn’t allow myself to do either.
I kept walking because somehow I knew the sun of righteousness would rise with healing in His wings and shine on me again. And He did, because the Lord is full of mercy and compassion. In many ways, that long dark walk made me into a better person.
When God gave the promise in Jeremiah 3:15, Israel was in a backslidden state and the nation was in shambles. His remedy was shepherds with His heart. It is the same for today. The Lord is raising up men and women after His heart, and gives them to us as a gift of His love.
Many Blessings, BW