20th July 2025

The True Shepherd

I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,”

says the Lord God.  

 Ezekiel 34:16

Today's Bible Reading: Ezekiel 34:11–16.

A faithful minister heard that a man in his church had deserted his wife and family, he asked God to help him meet the man as if by accident so they could chat. And He did! When the minister walked into a restaurant, he spotted the gentleman at a near by table. “Got some room for another hungry man?” he asked, and soon they were sharing deeply and praying together. The man was reunited with his wife and family.

That minister was acting as a shepherd for those in his church community, even as God through the prophet Ezekiel said He would tend His flock. God promised to look after His scattered sheep, rescuing them and gathering them together (Ezekiel 34:12–13). He would “tend them in a good pasture” and “search for the lost and bring back the strays”; He would “bind up the brokenhearted and strengthen the weak” (v 14–16). God’s love for His people reverberates through each of these images. Though Ezekiel’s words anticipate God’s future actions, they reflect the eternal heart of the God and Shepherd who would one day reveal Himself in His Son, the Lord Jesus.

No matter our situation, God reaches out to each of us, seeking to rescue us and sheltering us in a good pasture. He longs for us to follow the Good Shepherd, He who lays down His life for His sheep (see John 10:14–15).

Prayer: Dear God, You love me even when I go astray and wander. Help me to stay always in Your sheepfold, that I might receive Your love and care. In Jesus name. Amen.