Aug 10

Aug 10 The Great Shepherd

Holy Spirit, Sanctification, Spiritual Growth, Jesus, Relationship with God

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.

Micah 5:4

Micah carries on the shepherd theme. By implication Israel will no longer be abandoned (5:3). In the meantime, the Good Shepherd not only lay down His life for us, for the sheep (John 10:11). The God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, (wishes to) equip you with everything good for doing his will, and…work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 13:20).

We are to understand that the Great Shepherd takes an interest in His flock, an up-close and personal interest. He stands, is present with us. He did not go away and leave us without a companion—the Counselor, the comforter, the Spirit of truth who lives with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17).

And He shepherds, feeds, pastures, cares for those of us who know Him, in the strength of Yahweh, under the authority of that great name. In the image of God we were created (Genesis 1:27); in the goodness of God we were predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Romans 8:29). Under the tutelage of the Spirit in us we will grow in that image, grow to “be holy” as we are called to be (1 Corinthians 1:2).

It's the “being” that we need to concentrate on. And the best place we need to “be” is in the “Be still, and know that I am God” of Psalm 46:10. That is where we discover all the nuances of holiness and the everything good for doing his will.

I love to walk around my neighborhood in the spring and watch the azaleas and the roses and the hydrangeas pop into bloom. Even now the crepe myrtles are vibrant. What have they done to look like they were created to look? They just “are”. They sit and soak up the sun and rain from their God, along with the pruning of my shears and the fertilizer from my hand, and flourish.

I simply need to “be” in the presence of my God, soaking up the truths in His Word, listening to the promptings of His Spirit, being pruned and fertilized.

Nancy P

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV 1973,1978,1984, unless otherwise noted.