I know I’ve written about sheep several times in the past, but yesterday I stopped by a friend’s house who just happens to have sheep. I guess it would help if I told you that he lives on a farm—it’s not just a bunch of random sheep wandering around a neighborhood violating HOA regulations. As I approached the driveway, the gate was closed, so I got out and carefully made sure that no sheep escaped as I let myself onto their property. When I got to the door, I was quick to report that zero sheep were lost.
As I was driving up the long lane through the sheep safari, I couldn’t help but think about the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John. It’s all about sheep and the Good Shepherd. We are prone to wander, but even when we lose sight of Him, He never takes His eyes off of us. The more we let Him guide us, the more familiar His voice will become. The Bible tells us that when we know the voice of the Shepherd, we won’t follow a hireling (an impersonal, hired shepherd who is just in it for the paycheck).
That’s comforting to know! I admit that in my own life, I don’t always choose the right path, but I find assurance in the fact that the Shepherd will lovingly use His staff to draw me back to Himself where all is safe. Here’s another neat thought: not only is He the Good Shepherd, He is also the Door to the sheepfold. That means He will protect us from all of life’s harm and danger. It doesn’t mean that life will always be easy, but He is always in control. When we remember these truths, we will be more inclined to stay close to His side instead of wandering off toward strange voices. He knows the way because He is the Way (John 14:6).
I asked my 16-year-old what topic I should write about today. She told me that I should write about hanging in there when times are tough because the Lord will take care of you. That’s actually pretty fitting, since she’s been sick lately. I know it sounds basic, but it’s a truth everyone needs to hear. Even if you’ve recently witnessed a spiritual victory, discouragement in other areas of life is certainly possible, usually distracting us from the mountaintops by magnifying the valleys.
Even Elijah, one of the greatest prophets to ever walk the earth, faced discouragement and depression. Following his historic victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, he feared the wrath of Queen Jezebel and ran for his life. After he had fled a day’s journey worth of distance (approx. 20 miles), he sat under a broom tree and begged the Lord to take his life.
After the Lord took him through a scenario and ended up communicating to Elijah in a still, small voice, the Almighty reminded the prophet that he wasn’t the only person left in the world who still followed Jehovah. In fact, there were 7,000 others in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. He was not alone…and neither are you.
If life seems to be crushing you and you feel all alone, just remember that you have a God who sees you and cares about all your struggles. Hang in there and hang on to the only One who can bring peace to you in the midst of life’s chaos. Draw on the Holy Spirit’s power to guide you and give you the assurance that you are not alone. If Elijah faced this level of despair, chances are that we will have our moments as well. Trust the Lord to speak encouragement into your life, even it’s a calm whisper. He did it for Elijah and He can do it for you.
I’ve been using the same iPad case for the last 5 years or so, but I just noticed something about it this past week. My case has a pocket in the front of it. All this time I just thought it was part of the leather-looking design. I said something to my kids and they were like, “Duh, we knew that” (except they didn’t say “duh”). I overlooked the obvious, but when I found out that it was a functional pocket, I started using it to store papers.
As I was thinking about this newfound pocket, I thought about another time that someone missed the obvious—well, a lot of someones! When Josiah the king of Judah came to the throne, he was just a kid—literally, he was eight years old. He did some amazing things as king, and one day, on his watch, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Yahweh given by the hand of Moses. My question is, “Why was the book of the law in a storage room?” My second question is, “Why wasn’t the priest using it?” Seems like it would be an obvious resource for a spiritual leader to utilize. Thankfully, this discovery led to some amazing reforms that made Josiah one of the few good kings of Judah, even at a young age.
What are some obvious things that you have missed that could make a difference or improve your life? In the big scheme of things, iPad cases are small potatoes, but when it comes to the necessary things of life, we can’t afford to misplace God’s word or miss the obvious truth that we need. What are some things you’ve neglected that should really be part of everyday life?
I wrote today’s devotion while sitting in traffic yesterday. My kids and I left on time for school, but only about 10 minutes after we left, we hit a standstill. According to the GPS, there was an accident up ahead. I thought that maybe it had just happened because of the police just showing up and, well, making the backup even more backier-uppier (there, I said it :) Let’s just say the trucker beside us propped his feet up and settled in for the long haul.
We had plans to go to school, and even plans to be on time, but part of those plans changed. I was pretty certain that I was in the lane that was completely blocked, so I was making preparations to get over into the right lane, but since traffic wasn’t even moving in the slightest, I just had to wait. However, it ended up working out in my favor, because the police officer who was parked on the shoulder started motioning for our lane to go forward, and we were able to get through much faster than the other lane. The good news is that it turned out to be a lot shorter delay than I had expected, but at least I was able to get some work done while I wasn’t moving—you just happen to be reading it now.
Think back to a time when you had all your plans in order, but the circumstances changed on a dime. It may not have been a coincidence, rather a Divine interruption placed there by God in order to put you in the right place at the right time. While we may never know the reason, we know that God has a plan. Sure, it’s okay to make plans and be diligent, but we have to be flexible and know that God has the final say and He might just end up putting us on a different path or a on different time schedule. But if we keep our eyes on Him and allow Him to lead the way, He will never steer us wrong.
I can probably count on one hand the number of minutes I watch TV each day. It’s not that I have anything against the television in general, it just doesn’t really interest me. I mean, I do usually turn it on right before bed, but I’m often asleep within a matter of minutes, so I don’t really consider that actually “watching” it. My mind does stay busy, however, and the result of much of that thinking finds its way to these daily writings and my weekly sermons.
One reason I don’t care much for TV is because the commercials have gotten out-of-hand. Even if you pay for a streaming service or cable, you still have to endure countless commercials. I’m assuming they’re effective, or else companies wouldn’t spend buku bucks on them, but to me it seems like all these advertisements are just an overload of information. I guess the marketing strategy is that in all of the sights and sounds of the commercials, something will pop out at us and we will end up purchasing that particular product.
We have to be careful in our own daily study of God’s word that we don’t read more than we can process and apply. I realize that many people participate in a yearly Bible reading plan, and that’s awesome, but we must be careful to not only soak in information for the purpose of accomplishing something on our to-do list. While it is a commendable goal, and we should read God’s word every day, if we are not learning anything from it, and if we are not putting His truth into practice, we are simply filling time or overloading ourselves with information. My hope is that in the midst of all the content taken in, something will stick with us and will positively affect our lives in a way that we will become more faithful servants of Christ.
Over the past 10 years, or possibly even a decade, I have been privileged to be able to periodically work with staff and students at the local middle school for their Eighth Grade annual mock interviews. I haven’t been able to be present every year, but when my schedule permits, I enjoy participating. Most of the day was spent telling the middle schoolers to not be anxious and to relax, even though each one is being bombarded by questions from adults who are dressed up in fancy clothes, which does look very intimidating. We don’t want them to be afraid, however, we do want them to get used to the real world that will be their reality in the next few years.
Sure, we want them to respect us, but we do not want them to be fearful of us or overwhelmed by the serious tone that we employ in order to get them used to what an actual job interview will include in their not-too-distant future. While they have rehearsed the questions, posture, and presentation with their peers and teachers, the picture looks very different when they are face-to-face with members of the community who very well could be strangers to them.
It makes me think of how we approach God in prayer. We come before Him in reverential awe and utmost respect, yet we don’t need to be afraid that He will be mean or impersonal. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have a Heavenly Father who is approachable and who doesn’t judge us when we don’t always get the words right, or when we have no clue what we are doing. In fact, the author of Hebrews said that we can come boldly before the throne of grace. The next time you enter into prayer, remember that you are not talking to a distant, out-of-touch God; you are talking to the very One who created you to be in relationship and fellowship with Him. Come before Him, confidently and boldly, just as a child would approach their parents.
I know a guy who used to do music for a living to the point that he literally sold millions of albums (back before streaming ruined everything), and while he still does some of that, his current specialty is soul care. I think it’s safe to say that it’s not something that everybody thinks about. But if you take a minute to think about it, what is more important than your soul? Certainly not your body, even though taking care of that well-chiseled physique should definitely be on your radar. I know Paul told us that bodily exercise doesn’t have a high profit margin, but we are to give some attention to our physical well-being, especially since we glorify God in our body and spirit which belong to Him. (I guess treating my body to ice cream cake isn’t the best way to care for myself).
If the Lord is your Shepherd, one of the benefits is that He restores your soul. David wrote about this truth in one of the most well-known psalms ever written: Psalm 23. One of the ways He does this is by placing people in our lives that help facilitate this restoration process. Why do we even need restoration in the first place? Simple. Because we all get tired, not to mention that life has a way of wearing us out or beating us up. Not only should we identify others who can help us with this, we should also be ready to help others when they are in need of soul care.
The foundation for all of this is found in our personal walk with the Lord. He faithfully does the work of a Shepherd in regard to our soul (and even in the physical realm). He feeds us, He guides us, He protects us, He restores us, and gives us His peace. He doesn’t do all of this for us to keep it to ourselves—He wants us to minister to others. Since God cares about our soul, we should care about the souls of others. (For some reason, a song from 1998 called “Hey You, I Love Your Soul” just came to mind :) Take some time to care for your soul today.
A very common sight on highways is road debris. More often than not, these obstacles take the form of “tire gators”, which is another name for tire retreads that have come off the wheel and ended up finding a home on the pavement. If you have ever run over one of these, you will know that they can do some serious damage to the undercarriage of your automobile. If you have ever had one come flying at you through the air, you’ll know that they can be very dangerous and even fatal.
In some rare cases, these gators are unavoidable, but in many cases, if you are paying attention to the road ahead of you, you’ll have time to steer clear of them and continue moving safely forward. If you are tailgating someone, chances are you will see one fly out from underneath of the vehicle in front of you. Again, this can be very dangerous! In terms of today’s application, I want to major on the avoidance principle.
I know there are bad things that can catch us off-guard in life, but when it comes to sin, if we are walking circumspectly and keeping an eye out for potential problems, we can avoid moral failures and sinful behavior. When we operate under the influence of the Holy Spirit, He will guide us in truth and help us to avoid life’s pitfalls. If we are looking ahead in life and making wise decisions, the Devil won’t be able to blindside us. One of my go-to quotes as of late has been “While we will never be sinless on this earth, when we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will sin less.” Steer clear of the debris called “sin”.
Contact email: PastorJDM@outlook.com
© 2025 John Mallonee
