The Shepherd speaks to us personally – by name. He knows us inside and out. And when He speaks, it’s in the language of our own personal lives, through a verse or passage of Scripture that just seems to leap up off the page with our name on it.
Again and again God has seemed to speak to me through the pages of my Bible, giving me the secret to restoring love in my marriage when it had run out, reassuring me of my son’s recovery to health before his cancer surgery, directing me again and again in the expansion and priorities in ministry, leading me out of one church and into another. In fact, I do not make a major decision, especially one involving others, without a specific word from my Shepherd.
God speaks personally – are you listening?
When was the last time you wept into your pillow at night, thinking no one cared? Is the pain so deep and your hurt so great that you cry night after night? In your misery and loneliness, do you think Jesus is emotionally detached? That He just doesn’t care? Or that He’s simply too busy to notice? Or that He is somewhat callous since He sees a lot of pain that’s worse than yours? Or that He couldn’t possibly understand how you feel? Or that He’s not concerned enough to meet your needs?
Did you know that Jesus weeps with you? Did you know He puts all your tears in a bottle because they are precious to Him? (Ps. 56:8, NKJV) He has said in all of your afflictions, He Himself is afflicted. Why? Because He understands! And He loves you!
Your suffering is His.
Your grief is His.
Your tears are on His face!
June 24, 2013
O Lord, You have searched me
and You know me. Psalm 139:1
My father is hard of hearing, so I’m never sure I’m actually communicating with him when I call him on the telephone. Because my life is now somewhat restricted by the need to stay in close proximity to my husband, I have not been able to get away and see my father as frequently as I have tried to since Mother went to Heaven. It’s in those sweet face-to-face encounters that I get a sense of how much he understands of what I say. To overcome this limitation, I recently wrote a letter to him, explaining my situation, but I’m still not sure if he really knows…
John’s choice of wording in the Greek language is significant. His Greek for “Word,” which he emphasized by repeating three times in the first verse, is logos, the outward expression of the mind and will that rules the universe.
As we meditate on John’s words, we realize that the Logos who was in the beginning with God is a living Person . . . but He is more. He is the living expression of what is on God’s mind. But He is more. He is the living expression of what is on God’s heart. But He is even more. He is the very heart of the Almighty God of the universe laid bare for all to see!
Do you want to know what is on the mind of God? Then look at Jesus! Do you want to know the will of God? Then look at Jesus! Do you want to know what is in the heart of God? Then look at Jesus! He is the exact revelation of God!
The apostle John, suffering in exile on Patmos near the end of his life, must have prayed earnestly to be restored to his church and to his ministry. He must have begged God to get him off of the remote island so he could continue preaching and serving as a pastor and evangelist. Yet God didn’t answer his prayers. Instead, John related that it was on Patmos that God drew near to him and gave him a vision of the glory of Jesus Christ – a vision he recorded for the encouragement of every generation of believers since that time in the Book of Revelation. Jesus was with him in exile on Patmos!
What is your Patmos? A place where you are seemingly cut off and exiled from ministry and family? Is it a hospital bed? Or a small home with small children? Is it a workplace where you are surrounded by politically correct hostility to Christ?
Then look up! God is with you!
