«I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep» (John 10:11).
We could say it’s the oldest profession, together with agriculture. It exists from the time of Cain and Abel to this day, no matter how civilizations have developed or how the job is performed today.
Heaven seemed to have a special connection with shepherds. Our first parents of faith were shepherds, the highest leader in this earth’s history was a shepherd, the most important King of Israel was a shepherd, the first to worship baby Jesus were shepherds… God manifested Himself to them in their cold nights and solitary days. And no, they were not better than other people. They were and still are imperfect. But for some reason, Jesus chose that profession to define Himself.
I don’t know what your relationship is with your pastor. I don’t know if a pastor you’ve met has ever made an impact in your life. But today I invite you to pray in a special and detailed way for pastors you know. Yes, for all of them, even if you only remember their last names. Make a list of those you remember and pray for them, for their families (or the fact that they’re single or widowed). Pray for God to inspire them once again, to help them make a greater effort to study the Word, for them to strengthen their relationship with God and nurture, teach, rebuke and act lovingly. Pray for their work to never become more important than their personal relationship with God. Pray for them to be strengthened when they feel weak Pray for God to give them wisdom to deal with everyday church matters and also with the hearts of people they lead. We have no idea what struggles they go through. Many times we don’t know their stories, how they were called, how lonely they feel, how much they are criticized, how much weight they bear faced with the huge responsibility they have been given.
But what we do know is that they are definitely targeted by the enemy and how good our words of encouragement, spirit of cooperation, and prayers would be for them!
With a mind free of prejudice, resentment and pain (if there is any), let’s ask God to deliver us from it and unite us.
Let’s pray for them today, let’s send them a message of encouragement and offer to help them. We can make a great team in this sheepfold made up of sheep and pastors, led by Jesus, the good Shepherd.