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A Shepherd's Heart
by Gary J. Borgstede Scripture Jeremiah 23:3-4 "'But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will setup shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,' says the Lord." Observation In this passage, the prophet Jeremiah speaks of a time when the Lord will call His people back to the land He has promised them. If that were not enough, the Lord also promises to provide good shepherds to take great care of His people when they return. With the help of the Lord and His appointed shepherds, the Lord's people will be fruitful and multiply in His blessing without any fear or dismay, and lacking no good thing. The awesome picture that Jeremiah paints of the future He is prophesying about comes straight from the shepherd heart of God for taking great care of the people of His pasture. Additionally, these passages also clearly indicate that the Lord appoints spiritual leaders in His kingdom with the tremendous responsibility of representing Him as a shepherd appointed by Him to take great care of His people as well. Application As Jehovah Rohi, the Lord our Shepherd, God promises to take great care of those who love Him and are the called according to His purposes. In fact, in Psalm 23:1 David declares, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" meaning that God Himself is more than enough in the life of someone surrendered to His Lordship. Furthermore, God alone appoints leaders with the spiritual authority to lead and guide others into the good land that He has prepared for them. Through my submission to the Lord and those whom He has placed in spiritual authority over me, I will be spiritually well fed, full of courage, undeterred, and lacking nothing in the pursuit of God's perfect plan and purpose for my life. Plus, as a leader of the people that God has entrusted to my care, I must be careful to fulfill my God-appointed leadership responsibility with the shepherd heart of God so that the people on my team are also well fed, full of courage, undeterred, and lacking nothing in their pursuit of God's perfect plan and purpose for their lifea huge responsibility and privilege indeed. Prayer Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Jehovah Rohi, the Lord my Shepherd! Thank You Lord for caring so much about me to leave the 99 behind to find me in a far off place, bring me back to Your fold, and place me in divinely appointed relationships with good shepherds who care for me in the same way that You do. Help me Lord to be a good shepherd like You too. I love You Jesus! Amen! A Shepherd's Heart Copyright 2010, Gary J. Borgstede. You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, A Shepherd's Heart, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved. Gary J. Borgstede is the published author of the leadership books titled, The Make It Happen Journey and Kings Come Forth, as well as the faith-based leadership education blog at www.makeithappenmoment.com. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |