Mensa Otabil - The Flock of God's Pasture (10/25/2025)
Welcome to a brand new week, and I trust that God’s grace will be sufficient for you throughout this week. There are several thoughts in the Bible that encourage us to trust God, and one of them is in Ezekiel chapter 34, verse 31: «You are my flock, the flock of my pasture; you are men, and I am your God,» says the Lord God. God uses many images in the Bible to show the relationship He wants to have with us, and one of the images He uses is that of the shepherd. We are very familiar with that throughout the Old and the New Testament. In this passage, God reassures us that He is our Shepherd; we are His flock. However, He tells us that although we are human beings, we have a relationship with Him that is similar to the relationship a shepherd has with his sheep. God is our Shepherd, and we are His sheep. There are three things that He does for us from this passage.
The first is that He leads us. He helps us to find the way. The sheep can find their way, but they would not be very purposeful in finding their way. If sheep want to go to a place, they will be going in many directions and probably not even find the right place they should go. That’s why the shepherd’s job is to lead the sheep. The shepherd knows ahead of time where the sheep ought to go, where they go to feed, where they go to find pasture, and where they go to find safety, and he’ll lead them there. One of the things we have to trust God for every day of our lives is for Him to lead us. He will lead us by ordering our steps. He will guide the choices we make, and He will remind us of things we shouldn’t be doing. Sometimes, when we’re just about to make a decision, He will remind us, putting a thought in our heads that will caution us not to make that decision. If God is your Shepherd, expect Him to lead you.
The second thing is that He keeps us, which means He protects us. In the days of the Bible, that was a very important aspect of the work of a shepherd. These days, as sheep are guided in very enclosed areas, they rarely encounter a wild beast. But in the days of the Bible, the sheep would go out to pasture, and they would be in territories that had lions, bears, and other wild animals. Not only is the life of the sheep in jeopardy, but the life of the shepherd is also in jeopardy. Every sheep desires and needs a shepherd who is a protector. That’s what God says to us: as He leads us, He also protects us. He will protect you; He will deliver you from every lion, every bear, and every wild attack. He will shield you from destruction. He may not keep the enemy away, but He can protect you from the enemy, and that’s what we trust Him for-to lead us and to protect us.
The third thing that we look for from the Lord as the sheep is food. He feeds us; He provides meals for us. In the natural system, the shepherd feeds the sheep by leading them to the right place where there is the right grass. God feeds us with His word, His peace, His goodness. He feeds our souls, He feeds our minds, and He helps us. He strengthens us so that we are always strong enough to take on the challenges of life. I trust that you would allow the Lord to be your Shepherd. Allow Him to lead you, allow Him to keep you, to protect you, and to feed your soul.
Let us pray. Sit with me. Heavenly Father, You are the Shepherd of my soul. I trust You to guide and provide for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.