February 16 – In the Arms of the Shepherd

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11 (KJV).

A faithful shepherd knows the sheep that need his care the most—the weak, the wounded, and the weary—and he has compassion on them, tending to their needs. “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.”

Far beyond the knowledge of the patriarch Jacob, who understood the weak, the sick, and the lame among his flock, the Chief Shepherd knows His people. He sees what no one else can see. Every burden has been weighed by Him. No one understands its weight as He does, for He has borne all our sorrows and carried all our griefs. This is what made Him a Man of sorrows, acquainted with suffering.

Even if there were no other being in the universe to care for you, the Lord God watches over you with compassionate thoughts, full of tenderness and sympathy. He sees you in your struggles, in moments of weariness and discouragement. In the heart of the Good Shepherd, you have the deepest, most abundant, and most refreshing sympathy. We do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but One who was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Not only has every provision been made so that, when tempted and tried, you may find help, strength, and grace, but also so that your influence on others may be as a sweet fragrance. Christ does not merely know all people, their temptations, and their trials—He understands all the circumstances that irritate and distress the soul. Your greatest danger lies in presumption. This does not befit a follower of Christ. Yet, He will grant you His patience if you ask Him for it.

The abundant love of God, His presence, will give you self-control. He will shape your mind and character, guiding your goals and aspirations in a direction that will provide moral and spiritual strength—strength that you will not have to leave behind in this world, but will carry with you through the eternal ages.