Good Shepherd

Hosea 6:1 (NKJV):

Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

Psalm 147:3 (NKJV):

³ He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

In the Middle East one of the old traditional ways to guard and tend for the sheep is by making them aware of the Shepherd`s voice. When a stubborn sheep or a ewe doesn`t listen to the shepherd repeatedly, the shepherd breaks both legs of the disobedient sheep/ewe and carries that animal on his shoulders for the whole period of healing. The animal learns to eat, drink, and to be transported through the help of the shepherd, and once the sheep healed, a new phase of attachment, bonding, and dependence takes place. The disobedient sheep is no longer disobedient but obedient.

God repeatedly throughout the scriptures painted and illustrated a picture of Jesus being a Good Shepherd carrying for His “sheep”- us human beings. He craves our obedience and bonding. Unfortunately we are sinful and fallen by the nature that we inherited from Adam, so having wicked hearts prevents us voluntarily to abide in Jesus. That`s why the Lord is so loving when He puts us through the discipline just like the Good Shepherd would do to one`s disobedient sheep.

God allows trials, tribulations, and pain into our lives to make us aware and completely dependent upon Him. He is the one who breaks and binds up our wounds. He knows that the temporary pain that we experience is a medicine in a long run for our wicked hearts. I have experienced this kind of discipline in my life where Jesus placed me on his shoulders making me completely dependent upon Him through some desperate and impossible circumstances. I did learn obedience, surrender, and dependence. But most of all, I have experienced the freedom that I have never knew before. His healing carries an unbelievable sense of security knowing that He continues to walk with me and to pick me up when I fall.

As I go through the reconciliation period with my husband requiring to honestly discussing some of the excruciatingly painful subjects, God continues to show me the direction that leads to more freedom and healing. It could never be possible on my own, and I could never get to the place of forgiveness on my own either, but it is through this realization of a constant dependence in the Lord that He gives me strength to do what`s right in His eyes.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11 NKJV).

Jesus once again showed me that as I go through this healing process, He makes me more “independent” once again, and this is a big test to continue abiding in Jesus once the healing is over. As humans we have short circuited memory, and for some reason we easily forget all the blessings, or a pain associated with wrongdoing which prompts us to repeat certain mistakes. I was reminded once again today of this illustration of the Good Shepherd who teaches His sheep to depend and abide in Him in order to be safe from the predators. I was reminded once again to never forget that it was God who broke me down, so He could bind me and carry with Him to show me my inaptness in existing on my own. Healing sheep can run around once again on its own, and so can I now. The more healing takes place, the more independent I become, and this is where the true danger is: to never forget Who is the ultimate Shepherd and whose voice I should never estrange or forget.

We know that our biggest predator is Satan, and the Bible describes him as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour:
⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because^[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But may^[d] the God of all grace, who called us^[e] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you (1 Peter 5:8-10 NKJV).

We have to be vigilant, sober, and be able to resist him with the faith. This is that weapon again that we need so much in our daily walk with the Lord: Faith. Without that we cannot please God, and we cannot survive either because when our “adversary” shoots his fiery darts at us, the only weapon that would help us resist them is the “shield of faith” that God gave us (Ephesians 6:16). The scripture also calls us to be sober and steadfast, and that requires once again us dwelling in the scripture daily. As much background in the bible school and from my personal relationships with the Lord that I have, I still get bombarded with the fiery darts of the adversary, and there are days when I fail to resist them because I either lack faith or patience.

Jesus is our hope, and he is our Savior to continue to guard us and to guide us, but we need to remember of our dependence upon Him at all times.

I have to testify that the Lord blessed me abundantly and comes through for me daily when I face impossible tasks in my marriage or financially. God blesses obedience every single time, and I am no exception. I have to testify that He blessed me with the new job offer that came through just on time for me to be able to tackle my financial hardships. He is faithful! I and my husband started a 40 day Love Dare journey using the dares assigned for each day, and today this is Day 23 for us. It is very hard to complete a task assigned for certain days because it deals with the core of our issues. If He is mighty enough to save my family with all its horrible circumstances and tragic painful past, He can do the same for you.

I am here to testify of the Lord our God being a faithful and true God who is our Good Shepherd and desires to heal those whom He inflicted with wounds in order to spare our lives in a long run. Think about it, if a disobedient sheep would continue to wonder off, the predator would ultimately kill it one day. This is why when we read in 1 Peter 5:10 above, we see that God allows this kind of a discipline through trials and hardships to teach us obedience to His word and most importantly to trust Him. God calls it “suffered awhile”, while I would call it “suffered a lot”, but it doesn`t matter as long as the result would produce the desired outcome for the Lord.

This is why I would encourage you not to estrange the trials and sufferings because our Good Shepherd who inflicts the wounds, He is faithful to bind them and to heal them. The victorious result always outweighs the discipline process. I would encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus and to never forget that the place of where you are today is all according to His will in order to either break you or to bind you at a place where you are now.

If you are going through the blessing stage where you were healed, please don`t forget of your ultimate dependence upon Jesus in order to be safe and vigilant. The worst danger comes during the times of peace and quiet, and this is why the Bible is so clear about us being sober and steadfast in our faith.

For those of you who go through some bad times in marriage, I will definitely recommend a Love Dare guide with assignments, which is what I`m using because it really helps to break the barriers down and to restore any lost communication. The catch is: You have to do it willingly and obediently!