Hi friends, Drew here. I am going to be really honest in this space today. This week has been a heavy one. Nothing crazy has happened, my heart is just feeling the weight of a broken world. I have been struggling a lot during this time; dealing with big decisions and trying to hold my anxiety stricken reality all together on my own. <--- ha, there's my first problem. The enemy has been staring at me with daggers of fear and doubt and he laughs in delight at the instances in which those things scatter me. Anybody feeling that with me?
This week, J and I went through John 10 with our sweet high school girls, and although I was the one leading my group, God used this passage to reteach my heart a very important concept. The discussion points I brought up for them were really things that were used to stir my heart. In John 10, God uses two main metaphors to describe Himself: the Gate and the Good Shepherd. Both of these images are critical to our understanding of who God is, but this week, I was awestruck by the reality of having a Good Shepherd in lead of my path.
John 10:11 says, "I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." I think in this day and age, particularly in our modern westernized culture, we can glance over this I Am statement without grasping the depth of its meaning. We might read this and think 'sheep, oh yeah sheep dogs, then ew lamb chops, farmer Jo, etc.' and come to the conclusion that Jesus is some kind of Bakersfield hick just like a lot of us. But really, the true meaning looks more like this:
Sheep. Humans are a very accurate parallel to this specific farm animal. Sheep are defenseless, stubborn, prone to wandering away, and unable to see very far. If we're being completely honest, all those descriptions sound like us, right? We are so susceptible to the attacks of the enemy. We always think our way is best. We all struggle with walking in the ways of righteousness. And with our finite little minds, we cannot possibly see the big picture that God never loses sight of.
Shepherds. There is a stark contrast between Eastern shepherding and Western shepherding. Jesus did not share this metaphor in the context of rough and tough farmers with sheepdogs biting heels and driving herds forward by chasing behind them. Eastern shepherds, the ones Jesus is referring to, led their sheep by walking in front of them and using their familiar voice to draw the sheep closer to them. These shepherds did not direct their sheep into scary, unknown territory, they called them by name to where they already were. A speaker up in Wyoming shared that these shepherds knew their sheep so well, that they could literally close their eyes, reach out and feel the face structure of an individual sheep and know exactly which one it was. They could call them by name.
This is the kind of shepherd our God is. He goes out before us and draws us near. He knows us each by name. He loves us so deeply that He died for us, even when we were still feeble, defenseless lambs. He provides our every need and most importantly, our greatest need; the need for salvation. This was the reminder that I needed this week.
I know last week that I wrote of boldness. Boldness is so crucial to our walk, but if that boldness is not within the realm of knowing the vast greatness and pure intentions of our Shepherd, it's pointless. He is calling us to draw nearer to Him. To summon the courage to live for Him through His strength and not our own. He is calling us to press into His guidance and sovereignty, even when the walk through the wilderness is hard. He is calling us deeper to where He is, not into anything unknown or not yet navigated. He is carefully articulating the map of my steps, I need not to fear. He is calling me by name when I eyes shift off course because that's how well He knows my heart.
I pray that this truth will bring assurance to us all, that it would speak to our individual hearts in the unique way we each need to hear it. I hope that we are aware of that fact that the Designer of the universe knows the exact structure of my heart. The Namer of the stars also calls me by name. The Director of the waves guides my very footsteps. And the Holder of time, is the One who reaches out His hand for us to cling to. The Good Shepherd, my Shepherd, is the one who goes before us and calls us to His presence.
The Good Shepherd, my Shepherd, is the one whom I can call refuge and strength. I hope we'd find rest in this truth this week. Whether this is the greatest week of your life or you're trudging through a small valley like me, our cries are hopefully the same. May we both be in places of praise and pressing in.
all my love...
Drew
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