Last Friday, I met up with my church’s young adult’s group. We continued our bible study in John 10 and touched on Psalm 23—both about the Good Shepherd. As my pastor was teaching, this analogy played in my mind:

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He walks up to the sheepfold and he calls His sheep by name, and they hear His voice and choose to follow Him. Jesus wants to lead them to green pastures with refreshing water, knowing what they need to have a rich and satisfying life. He loves them, because they belong to Him. But there are wolves and other predators lying in ambush along the way, waiting to devour the sheep. Some of the flock don’t go with Him. They’re afraid, so they stay in the pen where it’s safe. 

How often do we wait in the sheepfold, not following Jesus because the road looks dark?

In Psalm 23 verse 4, it says that Jesus will protect us with His rod and staff. The staff guides the sheep as they start to wander and the rod is used as a weapon against those seeking to harm them. So, even when the road is hard, He’s got your back! 

And in verse 5, it points out that Jesus prepares a feast for us in the midst of our enemies. When life gets difficult, He provides a meal and space to rest when we’re tired and hungry. 

Hired hands will abandon the sheep, but we belong to the Good Shepherd. He left the ninety-nine to find the one—not to show that He leaves us, but to show how much He loves us. We’re not just one in the flock who can easily be replaced or discarded. No, we’re far more valuable!

The pen can’t offer you this. It can’t give you a time of refreshment or the blessing that Jesus wants to shower on your life.

So when the Good Shepherd calls, will you follow?