“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30 (NIV)
Is God our Supreme Delight and Satisfaction? Do we look upon Jesus as our pattern for all of life? Do we to listen to His still small voice, following hard after the Master – seeking to walk as Jesus walked – warmed by the security of His love and His faithfulness towards us? Believers are to be unhesitatingly following the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd knows His sheep in all their peccadillos and loves and cares for them still. And He has a right to lead us as we were purchased with a very high price - His redeeming blood – giving Him the right to lead. As the worldly servant obeys his master how much more so are we to obey our Redeemer – the God of all creation. This is to be the deepest desire of our hearts as we know He always has our best interest in everything He allows – even the most trying and difficult of circumstances. We are not being true to our faith if we question His right to lead, submission being our duty and pleasure. He is not an evil task Master rather a good and faithful One.
Are our hearts divided or deluded? When God is first in our lives, all else is to fall under that relationship. We take everything back to Him and place it in His all powerful Hands. Like a Good Shepherd, He goes before us, leading, guiding, directing and empowering us in the way we should go. We are never out of His sight or His grip. If we do not know where we are going, we know with Whom we go, Amen? All other relationships fall under that. He strengthens us, equipping us through His power to walk in a manner worthy of His Gospel. We are told in Jeremiah 29:13-14 (NIV): “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity”. The captivity in our lives can include whatever has us bound – or whatever we place first in our lives above Him. He is to be number One in the believer’s life – and we would not want it any other way, Amen? He carries us to the end in His everlasting arms - all His paths leading to glory - to the city with foundations whose Architect and Builder is God. Remember as well, His purposes will be worked out and will eventually be pure unmingled good for every heir of mercy. Also, as we cast our cares upon Him, He will never let the righteous fall. That does not mean a life without difficulties. It means He will carry us through them as we depend upon Him to bring us safely home. His constant love makes us far more blessed than “those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world’s fire” as Spurgeon so powerfully states. We must never doubt His upholding love and grace and power. All glory is due Him.
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:15-16 (NIV)