Soul ShepherdSample

When the books of the Bible were written, the shepherd metaphor was often used in comparison to God or kings since many could relate to the attributes and actions of a shepherd. But for the modern-day reader, this quite often isn’t the case. That’s why we must learn more about the role of an ancient shepherd. Learning more about an ancient shepherd means learning more about the heart of Jesus.

So, what does a Soul Shepherd do? We’ll dig into that more in this devotional, but before we learn about what He will do for us, we should be reminded what He has already done for us.

1 Peter 2:25 declares that Jesus is the Shepherd of our souls. Our desire to sin wages a war against our souls. Or put this way: Each time you choose to sin in your thoughts and/or actions, you come out from under the care of the Soul Shepherd. As humans, we are all guilty of this, and when we are, we must repent and turn away from our desire to stray away from our Shepherd.

When you turn away from something, you are turning towards something else. 1 Peter 2:25 shows us that turning away from sin means turning towards Jesus, the Soul Shepherd. This is the place we should long to be: in the care of our Shepherd.

Take a few moments to breathe slowly. Ask the Lord if He is truly your Soul Shepherd. Maybe you’ve walked with Him a long time and forgotten His care. Maybe you’ve purposefully stepped out from His care and chosen your own ways. Repent from where you have turned away and begin to walk in the freedom He offers as the “Shepherd of your soul.” Are you turning towards the Soul Shepherd?