ICS Daily Devotions
He is the Good Shepherd
John 10:11-15 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
We can know God by understanding that He is the Good Shepherd. A shepherd is one who owns the sheep and loves and cares for the sheep. He knows the sheep by name. He carries the sheep when it is injured and nurses it back to health. He goes in search for that one stray sheep. He protects his sheep from the lions and the bears.
In contrast, a hireling works only for pay and cares more for his own life than for the lives of the sheep. There is no commitment to the sheep entrusted to him. If we believe that God is a hireling who has no commitment to us, then we will feel very insecure when we try to understand the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. This will be revealed when we go through a crisis in life because our actions will show our core belief about God. There are Christians who think that God has left them or forsaken them during their most dire times like a hireling. This is a wrong perception of God.
God chose to reveal Himself through Jesus Christ. He is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 in search of the 1 who has wandered away. He is the Shepherd who protects us from the work of the devil. He constantly watches over His sheep as He leads them from one place to another. He will never abandon His sheep like a hireling will. He does not just say that He loves, us but has shown us His love by laying down His life for us. His love goes deeper and more intentional than we can ever imagine.
Would you trust God to be the shepherd of your life? Would you let Him lead you in every area of your life? He is the Great Shepherd who has laid down His life for you so you can rest assure He will never leave you nor forsake you, especially in your most dire situations!
Sermon Series: Knowing God My Good Shepherd
