The Good Shepherd: Devotions Inspired by Psalm 23Àpẹrẹ

Millie Jo 

By Jelani Lewis 

For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. Luke 19:10 (NLT) 

Her name was Millie Jo McSwain, but I knew her best as Grandma. She stood barely five feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds, but she was a force to be reckoned with. Everyone in our family knew you didn’t cross Grandma Millie Jo, or she would set you straight in a loving, spontaneous combustion kind of way. 

It was also common knowledge that Grandma Millie was a prayer warrior. She had no formal theological training—she dropped out of school after eighth grade—but boy did she know how to touch heaven! She was the tenacious type who literally prayed until something changed. In fact, when she would visit, we had to be prepared. Every morning at the crack of dawn, she would break the silence in her room with thanksgiving, intercession, and petitions. The loudness was so absurd, I’m sure she had a pocket megaphone tucked in a fanny pack somewhere. 

Yet the most impactful thing about her prayers wasn’t the volume; it was the consistency. I found out my grandma prayed every single day for over 20 years for the salvation of one of my uncles and for over 61 years for another uncle! That’s right—61 years—up until the day she went to be with Jesus. And guess what? Just before she passed, Grandma Millie asked my mother to take up the baton and continue praying for my uncle’s salvation. 

What motivates a person to pray like that? I’m sure Grandma Millie was determined to stand in the gap for her sons, but more than that, I believe she understood the mission of Christ. In Luke 19:10 (NLT), Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” The Greek word translated “seek,” zeteo, carries the idea of searching for, desiring, or investigating and getting to the bottom of a matter. This requires meticulous, intentional, and constant pursuit. 

Jesus proclaims those words in Luke 19 after encountering a chief tax collector named Zacchaeus. In Hebrew, Zacchaeus means “pure,” but Zacchaeus was seen as anything but that. He had probably acquired wealth from cheating people on their taxes and was considered a traitor by the Jewish people because he was employed by their Roman oppressors. Yet when Jesus sees Zacchaeus, He literally calls him by name as if to say, “Zacchaeus, I know who you are.” 

On top of that, Jesus invites Himself over to Zacchaeus’s home, thus implying, “And not only do I know you, but I’m also coming for you. I want to be near you.” The psalmist David similarly describes the Lord’s intentional and relentless pursuit as the Shepherd: “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6, NLT). 

I believe Grandma Millie prayed so fervently because she understood her prayers were partnering with Christ’s purpose to seek and save the lost, which included her sons. She was cognizant of God’s constant pursuit of His beloved because she had also experienced it firsthand. Grandma Millie knew God wouldn’t give up, so she didn’t either. And guess what? The son she prayed for over 20 years had an encounter with God like Zacchaeus that transformed his life, and he is now faithfully serving the Lord as a pastor in Oregon. And the son she prayed for over 61 years is still being prayed for. My family continues to believe he will meet the God who has been seeking him all his life. 

Today I encourage you—no matter how far away you think you’ve gone—to know that God is pursuing you with His love. If you’ve been praying for a lost loved one, continue partnering with God as He passionately pursues them. And for all of us, may we know that the same God who pursued us with His love before we received salvation still pursues our hearts—even today. 

PRAYER 

Father, I pause for a moment today and reflect on how You have pursued me with Your love. As I do, I just want to say thank You for seeking and saving me. You are good. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION   

• Reflect on how wide, long, high, and deep God’s love is for you and pray that those around you would know His love.   
• Pray for lost family and friends to have a Zacchaeus encounter that would leave them transformed.

Holy Spirit, what are You saying to me today?

MEMORY VERSE

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6