Live Loved by the Shepherd

“I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord GOD. “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick.”

Ezekiel 34:15–16

Whatever you are facing in your life, you don’t have to run around trying to meet all your needs. You just need to seek Jesus Himself. When you have the person of Jesus, you have all the benefits that come with the person.

Here is one particular aspect of the Lord that I want to draw your attention to.

Throughout the Bible, we see pictures or personifications of God, such as Him being our fortress, our stronghold, and our tower. One of the most frequently used pictures is of God as our Shepherd. And many times we see the imagery of the shepherd and sheep used in the context of healing. For instance, read today’s scripture from Ezekiel.

I love my wide-margin Bible because I can write my own notes and commentaries. Next to Isaiah 53:5–6 and 1 Peter 2:24–25, I wrote, “This imagery of Shepherd and flock promotes healing.” Let me show you something really powerful when you compare these two Scripture passages:

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

During my time of study, I felt the Lord say to me, “The day My people really see Me as their Shepherd, and not just know it in their heads, but experience Me as their Shepherd, their days of sickness are over.”

We were like sheep going astray, and that’s why we were sick. But we have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. And because of that, we can have full assurance that by His stripes, we are healed.

By the way, the word for returned in the original Greek text is in the passive voice. This means you are not the active agent here. It is the Holy Spirit who has brought you back and returned you. Do you remember the parable our Lord Jesus told about the shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to look for the one that was lost (Luke 15:1–7)?

The Shepherd is the One who looks for the lost sheep, finds it, and lays it on His shoulder, rejoicing. Our part as sheep is to simply consent to be loved by Him, let Him carry us on His shoulders, and rest in His strength.

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.