By Kathi Pelton
Jesus was the perfect representation of a true shepherd. He stopped for the one.
He defended the woman caught in the sin of adultery from her hypocritical accusers who sought to stone her— he didn’t excuse her sin but saved her from death and told her to sin no more.
For the blind who called out to Him to have mercy on them— even as those around Jesus tried to silence them— He stopped and healed them.
For the tax collector, who was hated by most everyone— He dined with him and asked him to become one of His own.
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, tended carefully to the well-being of His flock but He always stopped for the one who was lost. He is a good shepherd to all of His people and a good shepherd to nations— and to the one lost sheep.
There are many strays and lost ones in the family of God— there are those who are weak, physically and emotionally sick or injured— but where are the gentle shepherds who will bring them back and restore them? Who will search for them and recognize their absence from among the flock?
“You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.” Ezekiel 34:4
In context of the scriptures this verse is regarding His people, Israel, and how He will shepherd them. Yet it is for those who have been grafted in through faith in Yeshua as well. It pertains to a nation and a people that have an eternal covenant promise— and it pertains to those who have been brought in through faith in Jesus.
As I look at the horrific events that have happened in the land of Israel over the past few days and think about those who have been taken hostage in Gaza— I also feel great compassion for those in the body of Christ who have been torn from the family by the enemy. Israel is planning a ground invasion to rescue those who have been taken from them. They will do this at great personal risk. And yet, I often wonder if those He has called to shepherd His people will push past the crowds for the one who has been lost or gone astray?
There are over 9 million people living in Israel but they are all looking for a hundred who have been taken. They are going after the one.
“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.” Ezekiel 34:11-12
This is a promise for the Jewish people and it is for all His people as well. As the mom of one child who has gone astray— I hold onto these verses. Just as the Lord will rescue His chosen people, He is also faithful to rescue those who have fallen into the hands of the enemy in our land, our churches and our families.
But, like the Good Shepherd, we must go as well! We must send out an army of shepherds that will search for them and rescue the lost and injured— those taken from the flock like those taken from Israel as captives into Gaza.
Though most of our minds are on what is happening in Israel at this time and our prayers are focused on this war (and rightly so), let’s also remember the lost sheep that we might be able to search for and restore to the flock. Let the heart of our Good Shepherd come upon us and give us compassion for the one who is missing among us.
“I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” Ezekiel 34:16
What a merciful God! May we join Him in His search and shepherd with justice.
As for Israel— pray! Pray for the nation, her citizens, her military, for the return of the hostages (unharmed) and for the soldiers who will search and rescue them. Pray comfort over the hurting and those who are afraid. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for every plan to destroy Israel to crumble. And pray for the salvation of the Jewish people. I will end with these words of hope,
“Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”” Ezekiel 34:30-31
Oceans in the Desert 
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