It Starts Small

Sheep by nature struggle. They are easily hurt, bruised and cut. The have no inclination to stay put except to wonder and they have no real sense of direction. Perhaps you can relate to this. A shepherds responsibility is to bind up the broken, hurt or sick sheep and stay with it until if fully recovers. This is what Christ does for His people. God promised in Ezekiel 34:16:

¹⁶ I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.

Ezekiel 34:16

Sheep also stray away from their shepherd. They are prone to wander. Jesus uses an illustration of a shepherd with a hundred sheep and one who strays away. What does the shepherd do?

³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, ⁶ and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.

Luke 15:3-7

He searches for the one who is lost until he finds it and brings it back to the fold.

²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 2:25

The Lord continually restores the spiritual life of his people.

Will you not revive us again
so that your people may rejoice in you?

Psalm 85:6

He brings us back to Himself by renewing our desires, our passions, our appetites and our emotions for God. He renews us inside by His power through His Word. As David states:

The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.

Psalm 19:7

David credits the Lord, his shepherd, with restoring or refreshing his soul. How often the Lord restores us to good spiritual health after the evil world system has hurt us, or, even more often, when we have hurt ourselves by failing to follow Him closely! When Peter relied on self-confidence to keep him faithful to the Lord, he failed miserably, but the Good Shepherd graciously restored him to spiritual health:

¹⁵ When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”

“Feed my lambs,” he told him. ¹⁶ A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”

“Shepherd my sheep,” he told him.

¹⁷ He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

“Feed my sheep,” Jesus said. ¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” ¹⁹ He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”

John 21:15-19