21 Days of Prayer - John 10 - Shepherds and Sheep

After my freshman year of college, I was given a tremendous opportunity. I spent two months of that summer living in the country of Ireland. It was a life-changing experience. We worked with a church in Dublin and spent our time working primarily with children and youth. During that time, I fell in love with the people and land of Ireland.

The last week we were there we had the chance to travel to the more remote parts of the country and see the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. One of the things that fascinated me was all of the sheep. When you got out in the country, they were everywhere.

I remember we stopped along the road to take a picture of the gorgeous landscape. Just behind us was a stone wall which contained a herd of sheep. For some reason, I became determined to touch one of them. I looked around to make sure there was no shepherd, jumped over the wall and made my way towards the sheep.

What happened next was interesting. I wondered if they might charge me or try to defend their territory. They didn’t. I thought that maybe my soothing voice or natural good looks would draw them to me. That didn’t happen either. Instead, they just cautiously and purposefully moved away from me. The closer I got to them, the further they determined to get from me. I wasn’t their shepherd, so they wanted nothing to do with me.

Today we are reading John chapter 10. Why don’t you pause right now to read this chapter, if you haven’t already. Jesus makes a unique comparison between those who follow Him and sheep with their shepherd. “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice (John 10:3-5)."

That is exactly what happened to me! The sheep ran away from me because they did not know me, I was not their shepherd. Jesus tells us in this chapter that He is the good shepherd and we are His sheep. As His sheep, who are we following? Do we listen to the voice of the shepherd and follow His leading? Or do we allow the other voices of strangers and enemies to lead us away from the care of our loving shepherd. If you want to know how these two choices end up, take a good look at John 10:10.

Don’t let anyone pull the wool over your eyes. That would be baaaaaaaaaaaad. Today, let’s be extra aware of listening to the good shepherd’s voice and following Him where He leads us.