All my life I’ve seen all kinds of sheep of the Lord’s pasture. I happen to be one myself. Baaahhh. Yesterday I went to see a lamb here in Cuenca, Ecuador. We met her before and have seen her three times now. The second time we visited her, we gave her one of my CDs I made several years ago called “Broken – His Body Was Broken for Me.”
On this third visit, she brought up how she had listened to it and that God spoke to her through it. She said she needed God’s message to her heart. With that statement, tears started rolling down her cheeks
.
Then I was rather amazed to hear her say these words in her broken English. However, I truly understood what she was saying and here it is paraphrased: “I see the things around me and their appearances in this world, but all I want is God.”
Through her continued tears, this lady was expressing her hunger and need to know God and understand Him. This was none other than the work of the Holy Spirit. But as I talked with her, I also understood she has a broken, undernourished heart.
And this is what Ezekiel 33 and 34 said to me today – how that many sheep graze in the pasture with their shepherds feeding them, yet God is addressing how the shepherds have not fed them according to the CHIEF SHEPHERD’S Words of Life. I am getting the impression from the Lord that many are still not being touched by His GREAT LOVE and PERSON – that He wants to reveal Himself so personally. And that all the sheep minister to one another His way, through His life and love.
Then I was rather amazed to hear her say these words in her broken English. However, I truly understood what she was saying and here it is paraphrased: “I see the things around me and their appearances in this world, but all I want is God.”
Through her continued tears, this lady was expressing her hunger and need to know God and understand Him. This was none other than the work of the Holy Spirit. But as I talked with her, I also understood she has a broken, undernourished heart.
And this is what Ezekiel 33 and 34 said to me today – how that many sheep graze in the pasture with their shepherds feeding them, yet God is addressing how the shepherds have not fed them according to the CHIEF SHEPHERD’S Words of Life. I am getting the impression from the Lord that many are still not being touched by His GREAT LOVE and PERSON – that He wants to reveal Himself so personally. And that all the sheep minister to one another His way, through His life and love.
In these chapters of Ezekiel, the Lord talks about the problem with the sheep pushing other sheep out of the way. Instead of sheep being guided by the Shepherd Himself when they all are together, there’s a bit of bullying going on and insensitivity.
I saw a picture of this years ago. It happened when I made my CD, “Broken.” I wanted a picture with a lamb, so we found a farmer out in Leicester, NC who had sheep.
He was happy for us to have a picture made with his darling lamb. Before the photo session took place though, it was feeding time for them. There were about 8 sheep. In the barn there was a trough with lots of food in it. As soon as they were released, all went charging to the trough. They were locked solid in their position to eat. However, there was one little lamb that had not made his way to the trough fast enough so he was on the outside, not being able to feed along side of them.
This precious little lamb was running back and forth trying to “butt in” simply to get some food – some nourishment. But the other sheep, selfish I might add, didn’t let that little poor lamb in at all. It was a sad sight. UNTIL…this “Shepherd” picked up that little lamb and inserted him in a spot for him to start feeding.
Once the Shepherd was in charge, no lamb challenged that little sheep and they all fed from the trough.
Once the Shepherd was in charge, no lamb challenged that little sheep and they all fed from the trough.
The picture I am seeing, or the words I hear are that so many are undernourished in their hearts of the Shepherd’s great love, mercies, and power of the Gospel - even their place in His Body. In a way we could say we have “fat heads,” but what we need are “FAT HEARTS!” It’s not just about feeding ourselves and how great we have it, but caring for every lamb God gives us or around us, that we know they are equally along side of us, feeding on the Shepherd’s Great Food.
Our hearts need to be fat with all the precious realities of Christ Himself and His ability to make real the things of God in the face of Christ Jesus. This is what we truly need to minister to one another. Life is truly more than deeds of raiment and food, or even our particular work for the Lord – there is truly something in our hearts that constantly need to be touched.
The other message I received from yesterday's lambs and today’s reading, is that there are a lot of broken hearts out there. So many believe they are on the outside “looking in ,” just like that little lamb. All God’s lambs need to experience the life and reality of the TRUE SHEPHERD living inside of each one of us. It’s not information people need – it’s the ministry of the Spirit of the Living Christ flowing out of our hearts into theirs - and Christ in them to our hearts. We are meant to feed one another. And God’s Spirit does use His great WORD to minister, but through Life, not the letter. What an exciting reality - that Christ Himself dwells in us!
I personally know what it is to have a broken heart; to have felt pushed out of the way by other sheep, not even considered, or not even listened to. Yet I praise God too that He can use “stuff” like this to cause us to come to the Shepherd and be fed by Him in all His Truth and Realities. And may God keep me/us from pushing any other sheep out of the way either, not letting them in - or perhaps just taking the time to "hear" the Lord for them, especially if God has sent them into our lives!
May it truly be the Chief Shepherd to lead the sheep. And how we surely do not need another religion, we need the Living Christ.
The Lord Himself says in Ezekiel 34:15 “I will feed My sheep and I will cause them to lie down.”
Thank you, Lord that You are indeed, the GREAT SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP!
Feeding with you on His Words of Life,
Sue Gaither
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