A Good Shepherd

“Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth…” (Isaiah 40:4)

This is the will of the Father. This is His heart towards us. Not just for those who believe in Jesus, but for all of humankind.

He does not desire for us to have to struggle and toil. It was sin that brought the curse of struggle and toil upon humankind, but now we have atonement for our sins through God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

For those who have received Jesus as Savior, they are no longer bound by the curse of sin. We are redeemed by His blood. We are also restored by His blood. We are restored into right standing with God the Father, and in His Kingdom struggle and toil have no place.

This scripture stirs up in me the imagery of Jesus as our Shepherd. We are sheep and our Savior is also our Shepherd. Even a few verses into Isaiah 40, the Lord is referred to as such.

Isaiah 40:11 says, “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”

From here echoes Psalm 23:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

You may be wondering how we got here, lol. Let me paint a picture for you, if you have not already seen it.

A shepherd takes care of their sheep. That is the purpose of a shepherd, to give their sheep the best life possible, to take care of the sheep’s every need, to protect the sheep from danger, and to lead them to the best places so that flourish and be fruitful. As a matter of fact, the shepherd does more work for the sheep than the sheep does for the shepherd. All the sheep can give in return is their affection (they love the shepherd) and the fruit of their body (the wool their body naturally grows).

When you consider this in regards of a believer, there is no struggle and no toil in offering to God our love and the fruit of our lives.

Now understand this, I am not talking about a lack of “work.” I am talking about struggling and toiling.

Struggle is defined as a long effort to do, achieve, or deal with something that is difficult or that causes problems. It is also defined as a battle. Toil is defined as long strenuous fatiguing labor; drudgery, exertion, and slavery.

Yet work is defined as the use of a person's physical or mental strength or ability in order to get something done or get some desired result.

I hope you can see the differences here.

Struggle and toil involve exhaustion, difficulty, trouble, and even slavery. Work does not require any of that from us. It is like the sheep who just naturally produces wool. A sheep does not strive to produce wool. They are not a slave to wool production.

I hope this helps bring some clarity to the overall message.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep (John 10:11-18). He does not call us to struggle and toil for Him. He does have work for us to do, but it is never to be a slave to that work. Yes, we are servants, but first we are Sons and Daughters in the Kingdom of God (Galatians 4:6-7, John 15:15). Jesus too is both God’s Son and a servant (Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, Acts 4:30). It is from the place of “Sonship” that we serve God and people. And we do so out of choice and not out of requirement.

As believers and followers of Christ, we are simply to live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28). It is only through Him that the valley’s, mountains, crooked places, and rough places in our lives are made clear, steady, and not arduous. He, as our Good Shepherd, has done all the hard work for us.

If you doubt that, then I recommend you read your Bible from cover to cover. From the very beginning, God has worked on the behalf of humankind (Genesis 1). And there is no work that we can do in return to ever match His. The great thing is, He doesn’t even ask us to try and match His work. That is why He is a good Father and a good Shepherd.

He only calls us to step into who He has purposed us to be. He calls us to come near to Him. He calls us to listen to His words and follow them. He calls us to lift up our praise to Him for Who He is and what He has done for us. He calls us to love Him and love one another as He loves us. Notice that He calls us. He does not demand any of these things from us. Just as a Shepherd calls to His sheep and does not demand their love or obedience. He guides them, teaches them, and leads them to His will.

And as a reminder today: 

It is not God’s will for you to live a life of struggle and toil. Jesus came so that we may have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10). I encourage you to take Him up on that wonderful gift.

If you find yourself in a place today where struggle and toil has taken over your life, I invite you to come to the LORD and lay it down at His feet. Ask Him for direction and wisdom. Ask Him to show you the work that He has planned for you. And in faith, step into that place of being His wonderfully cared for sheep. There, in that place, you will find peace and rest for your soul (Matthew 11:28-30). It is there where you can pour your love and affection on the LORD and produce Kingdom fruit without struggle and toil. It is there you will truly know what it means to live and move and have your being in Him. I pray that this has helped you today.

God bless you my friends! Until next time…..