Picture Scripture: Shepherd (following the Shepherd)
Scripture: Psalm 78: 52-54; John 10: 1-17; 1 Peter 2:25
As you read through these passages of scripture, journal any thoughts or verses that are meaningful to you.
Soul Sisters, I want you to know that I'm praising God this morning for you. Missy did such a fantastic job of reminding us that we are a collection of believers in this Facebook community. I'm honored to be able to study God's Word with you.
Today, we get to look at our job as a community of believers. And, it's simple.... We get to FOLLOW the Shepherd. The passage in John is one of my favorites. Jesus gently instructs His people about Who He is. He is the One that leads us and guides us in the way we should go. After everything that we've learned this week about our Shepherd, it seems we'd automatically follow Him and trust Him with decisions for our life.
We don't automatically do that, though, do we? I believe there are several different reasons:
1. We don't BELIEVE in Him. The most basic explanation for not following the Shepherd is that we don't believe. Prior to coming to know Jesus, we can't follow Him. We follow our own way, because it's all we know. In His kindness, God calls us to repentance through Jesus Christ. When we receive that, our eyes our opened to see a different way, His way.
2. We don't UNDERSTAND Him. One of the reasons I love the John passage so much is because Jesus shares a parable with a crowd. When they don't understand the parable, He tells it a different way. He didn't reprimand them or tell them to study harder. He just retold His story in a way they could understand. He will do that for us too. When we are searching for answers and still feel lost, we are wise to approach Jesus again. Proverbs 3:6 say that He will make our paths straight. We just have to stick with Him until we understand (as best we can).
3. We don't trust fully in God's goodness. This truth is as old as Adam and Eve and the Garden. Most of the time, we don't follow Jesus as our Shepherd, because we feel like He's holding out on us. We assume He's out to steal our joy and take away the fun. Nothing could be further from the Truth. God, in Jesus, knows what is best for us. He directs us in His path, because He knows that's where we will find fulness of joy. In John 10:10, Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life and have it to the fullest." That sounds fun to me! :)
Today, let's think on the fact that God sent His only Son to be our rescue. And, He did it because He loves us. I believe trusting in that love would give us all the confidence and security we need to follow our Shepherd without question and without fail.
Heavenly Father, Your way is perfect, and we are at our best when we follow You alone. We confess that (for a variety of different reasons) we sometimes turn and go our own way. Thank you for each and every time You've gently drawn us back to You through kindness and love. Today, I pray that You'd solidify Your goodness in our hearts. Help us to ponder the awesome love You have for us, because that is a love that we can trust. You are the Guardian of our Souls (1 Peter 2:25), and we are safe in Your care.
