Daily Devotional for Saturday, August 29

A Plea for God’s Care and Protection

“Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things,” Micah 7:14, 15.
The relationship between a shepherd and his sheep is a very close, personal one. While most would not be able to tell one sheep from another, the shepherd knows them all by name. The sheep also know the shepherd and will only respond to the sound of his voice. I recently watched a video of three different people attempting to call a flock of sheep. The sheep did not respond at all. But when the shepherd called, they immediately followed the voice of the shepherd. It was truly amazing! Funny thing is that sheep are not too bright. They are easily distracted and tend to wander away from the fold and into dangerous territory. For this reason, they are completely dependent on the care and protection of a loving shepherd.
The Lord had been a Shepherd to Israel. He led them out of bondage, fed them and protected them from their enemies. Yet like sheep, they had wandered astray from the loving care of the Lord and into very dangerous territory. Micah prayed for God to feed and protect His heritage once again.
We too, are sheep. If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit we also tend to take our eyes off the Shepherd and go astray. But this is a place of danger for the child of God. Keep listening to the voice of your loving Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. Allow Him to feed you daily from His Word and stay close to the flock, your brothers and sisters in the Lord’s New Testament church.

REFLECTION
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Darla Goodrum