shepherd

Bighorn sheep standing on rocky terrain with mountains and a colorful sunset in the background

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The Lord Provides

June 10, 2026April 17, 2026 krisshetter

“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide.” Genesis 22:1-19

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

The story in the Old Testament of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his God-given son is the cause of so much anxiety about God. These scriptures have led to many deep discussions into the night by my friends, all mothers. The horror of being asked by God to not only release a child to death but to also be the one responsible for that death seems unimaginable and cruel.

It’s important to notice that Abraham didn’t go gleefully to the hill where the sacrifice was to take place. In fact, you get the impression he was taking his time, slowly preparing the funeral pyre. What he did go with was the ultimate trust that God would provide. God had already provided for Abraham in many ways, not the least of which was resurrecting Sarah’s womb so they could have the very child he led up the mountain.

Commentators say, and I agree, that Abraham not only trusted that God would provide a substitute sacrifice but also that if one were not given, God would be able to resurrect Isaac. Somehow, he had already developed the deep insight into Jehovah jireh, the God Who Provides.

Complete Trust in the Provider

“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” Luke 12:24

When the bill arrives or the diagnosis comes, do we trust God’s provision as fully as Abraham did? Do we believe Jesus when He tells us how much more valuable than birds are we! Or do we scoff at His words when He commands us:

“Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.” Luke 12:22

I think we get a bit confused by His promises for provision. While yes, God provided water from a rock. Or miracles of a place to stay, a check to cover rent right when needed, or even a baby when we have been deemed unable. Those are amazing experiences of His provision!

Day to day however, we should be so thankful for the more mundane. The physical ability to go to a job. The job itself. The education that got you that job. The paycheck from which you can buy food and pay the mortgage. The strength to wrangle your kids when you just don’t feel well. That solution suddenly revealed to a nagging problem.

The idea of seeing our lives as being provided for by God was foreign to my dad. He told me once, “I’ve done everything on my own, by myself.” One day I finally pointed him to the many miracles when God intervened during his 80 years. As I listed them all, my dad became quiet. He had never reviewed his life through the lens of God’s provision. He had never stopped to contemplate that someone “out there” was watching over his needs.

When we see the thousands of ways Jehovah jireh works in our daily lives we become people of thankfulness. I believe we also become people who, in the name of our LORD, become providers for others.

Our Good Shepherd

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

Friends, sheep don’t worry about what they are going to eat or where they are going to sleep. They don’t even seem to worry about any dangers on the perimeter of their wooly lives. They trust completely in their Shepherd. That is the picture Jesus paints for us throughout the Gospels.

^“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28

We are such independent people and being likened to sheep really rankles us. That’s because our sinful nature begs and brags about doing everything ourselves. This striving without ceasing brings us separation from the God who loves you so dearly that He wants you to come to Him for all your needs.

Whatever worry is on your heart and mind today, bring it to God. Bring it to the Father who is the giver of all good gifts. I hope you will also ask Him how you can be a blessing in return.

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” John 6:35

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Sleeping lamb cuddled gently in human hands

The Shepherd’s Pursuing Love

May 20, 2026May 20, 2026 krisshetter

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-2

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

In the last week of my BSG’s study on the Book of Ruth, Pastor Alistair Begg asked, “When have you, like Ruth, wondered, ‘Why?’ about God’s providence and generosity?” It was interesting that most of our group answered with the negative in mind—“Why did this terrible thing happen?” But Pastor Begg was actually pointing to Ruth’s honest confusion in response to unexpected kindness. In Ruth 2,

“I (Boaz the farmer) have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”

At this, she (Ruth) bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”

She wasn’t questioning punishment; she was marveling at kindness in light of her position.

Chosen With Love

My own “why” answer to the study question was along the same lines—a question I often thank God for in my life: “Why did You choose me when I didn’t even know You? Why have You blessed me so richly and changed me for the better?”

In past posts, we’ve talked about the importance of remembering. For me, it has been essential to my sanctification. When I look back on my life “before Christ,” I remember the ways I sought comfort apart from God, especially in sexual immorality. To that I added anger, unforgiveness, pride, and selfishness. And I still at times, now that I am “in Christ,” ask: why?

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:10-11

And this is His answer: He loved me while I was still a sinner (Romans 5:8). Just as He loved you, dear friend—not after you cleaned up your act, but before. Before you were even born. It’s hard to grasp that kind of love, isn’t it? Maybe that’s why so much of the world rejects it. It can’t possibly be true—and yet it is.

Our Loving Shepherd

As I considered today’s post, I thought about simply including all of Psalm 23—the familiar “The Lord is my Shepherd” psalm. I’ve always found it interesting that it’s so often associated with death, when it speaks so richly about life and love; the good life held in the arms of our loving Shepherd.

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

What a comfort to know this love. A God who loved us before we were born and who follows us all the days of our lives! A Shepherd who protects and provides for His sheep—and His sheep know His voice. This God is Jehovah-Raah: the Lord is my Shepherd.

No matter how long we’ve walked with Christ, we can look back and see moments we’re grateful He loved us—even then. Some are blessed to have known that love early; others, like me, recognized it later. Either way, His timing is perfect. As I’ve slowly grasped what His love means, chains have broken, wounds have healed, and my love for Him has grown year by year.

In a post from a while back, we talked about God the Creator. On the sixth day, He crowned His creation by making humanity in His image and declared it not only good, but very good. And with that began a love story—a love that never leaves us or forsakes us. When we turn our backs, He still calls, “Come back to Me, your Shepherd.”

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:26-33

How beautiful is this picture of God’s love for us—to be held secure for all eternity. Today, let us rest in the love of God: the One who defines love, who is Love; the God who loved you then, loves you now, and will love you forevermore.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come before You with a humble heart, recognizing that Your love is the foundation of all existence. Your love is beyond measure, beyond comprehension, and it surpasses all human understanding. I am in awe of Your boundless love that extends to every corner of creation.

Lord, I pray that Your love may envelop me completely. Fill every fiber of my being with Your unconditional and transformative love. Let it penetrate every thought, every word, and every action. Help me to experience the depth of Your love in every aspect of my life.

I surrender myself to Your love, knowing that it is the greatest force in the universe. Thank You, dear Lord, for the immeasurable gift of Your love. May it be my constant source of strength, joy, and peace. I offer this prayer in the name of Jesus, who embodied Your love fully. Amen.

Author Unknown, Bibleversesnow.com

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Attentive Grace

April 1, 2026March 24, 2026 krisshetter

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” – Isaiah 65:24

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer – 1 Peter 3:12

So often we hear people talking about “finding God.” Others say they are “seeking.” But it’s not God who is lost, we are. God is right where He always is – all around us and above us and below us. In fact, to state it correctly, God is the one seeking. He is the Shepherd gathering His sheep and attending to their needs.

God is not distant or unaware. He is attentive—fully aware of our needs and actively responding to them. Scripture reveals Him as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals, not only our bodies but our hearts and spirits as well.

He sees our need, forgiveness of sin, and He responds in kind, called to be renewed. His attentiveness to all our needs came at Creation when He provided for Adam and Eve. He gave us plants and animals to eat, air to breathe, water to drink. He gave us relationships, clothing, avenues for joy and gaining knowledge.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, reminds us how attentive God truly is to our needs.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Matthew 6:26-30

And yet we forget this basic truth about God. We come with our own plans thinking we are better at fixing our problems (or those of others) than anyone else. Or worse, we think God has forgotten us and we sink into depression and despair.

When Moses and the Israelites were out of water, not once but twice, they rebelled thinking God didn’t know their needs or care about them. At Marah Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. (Ex. 15:22-27)

Friend, I felt God’s holy attentiveness so often during difficult times caring for my father. On one such occasion at 2:00am I was yet again cleaning the bathroom floor because his body was failing. I remember thinking this was not a terrible chore. It was a blessing God gifted me to help my dad. The Holy Spirit was on His hands and knees with me, giving me the fortitude and wandering thoughts to distract me from the mess.

My BSGs always used to laugh at Bible study questions that asked, “What are you hiding from God?” Because we knew the truth — God is attentive and sees everything.

Friend, God does see everything—but not with condemnation. His eyes are attentive to our prayers, and His heart is moved by compassion. We can be thankful that unlike the gods of the Canaanites, the Greeks, the Babylonians or even modern mystics, our God is not made of wood or stone or glass beads. He is not cold and unable to hear us. He is the living God. He is the God who sent His Son to die for our sins. He is the God who hears us and answers us.

Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s

Psalm 103:1-5

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I Will

February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 krisshetter

So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. Matthew 1:19

We left off our study of new beginnings with a cliff hanger of sorts. There sat Jonah on a hill wishing he were dead. And God reminding Jonah that He cares for all people of the earth, especially the ones “who cannot tell their right hand from their left.” Thank goodness for that because there are many days I feel and act like one of those foolish people! If left to being helped out of my fiery pit by unloving, sleepy Christians, I would surely find myself in the depths of hell. But for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And those that submit themselves not only to their will but do so out of love.

So, we leave the Old Testament with many more stories of new beginnings than I have shared. And with hope that Jonah finally grasped God’s message of works without love is empty and useless. But here’s the thing about our guidebook for life, the Bible, God’s holy Word, there’s 1000s of connections back and forth between the ancient stories in the Old Testament and the newer history of the New Testament. Which leads us to the first new beginning we encounter in the book of Matthew. Another Noah. Another servant of God who is the way maker for the world’s new beginning. The connector from the old ways to the new. A man who, like Noah, was considered “righteous” and faithful to God. But first, let me share with you a modern story of another righteous man who helped shepherd in a new beginning for one small child.

Epworth’s Children’s Home received this first-hand account from a foster parent in 2017 about his experience in becoming a foster father:

“Our family has been fostering a boy since October 2017. Yesterday our foster child had a court hearing to determine what step to take as far as his custody goes. I haven’t shared a lot about the whole foster experience because I have been afraid, to be completely honest. Afraid because fostering has been a lot harder for me than I thought it would be. Not because the child is difficult – it has been hard because of my heart. Ever since he came into our home, I have been terrified of becoming too attached and having my heart broken when he would eventually leave our home. I have been terrified of giving him all of my love, my energy, my grace and my compassion. I was sitting in the courtroom listening to the different parties discussing and debating the best course of action for the child’s future, when I started shaking. I began to realize this is the moment! The moment I decide to completely expose my heart to the potential of pain, or keep my walls up. It was absolutely terrifying! I started hearing a small voice inside that I could no longer ignore, and it was telling me to fight for this child. I realized I was willing to do anything for him.

“My walls started to crumble around me. Then I heard the judge call my name. He wanted to know if I wanted to adopt this child. I wanted to scream “Yes! He is my son!”, but I think I said something a little less dramatic like, “Yes sir, we are working on becoming licensed for adoption for this child.” I then heard the judge say that he is ordering termination of parental rights and opening this case for adoption. The weight of this decision is not lost on me, but it was one of the most powerful experiences that I have ever had.”

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20

Joseph was our Lord’s foster father. As a devout follower of the Mosaic Law, he had every right to not only publicly shame Mary for her “adultery” but also to have her stoned to death! Before the angel even spoke to him, however, love, kindness, compassion took over and he decided to quietly divorce her. Think of how Jonah would’ve responded. Surely God would’ve had to intervene to save Mary’s life from Jonah’s anger.

After Joseph obeyed God’s urging to complete his marriage vows to Mary, his troubles surely were not over. Like Noah, he would’ve faced public humiliation. The knowledge of Mary’s pregnancy in the small village of Nazareth would have spread like a wildfire. And yet he stayed the course. He stayed faithful not only to Mary but to God. He didn’t, by all accounts do it begrudgingly like Jonah. He took up the mantle of “foster father” and protected his family, raised his son as his own. His new beginning was as father to someone else’s son. An earthly role model. A shepherd, like Noah, for what was to be all of humanity’s new beginning.

Joseph and the unnamed servant girl who helped Naaman (2 Kings 5:3) also have a lot in common. They were faithful. They had a heart for God. They stepped up to help when they could’ve taken a different path. Their small steps were a gift to many. And they both are but a few lines in our history. Joseph’s last mention of him doesn’t even use his name. Jesus is 12 years old, immersed in the teachings at the temple and his parents are frantically looking for him. His mother chastises him and says, “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you!” (Luke 2:48) After that, Joseph fades away. Most likely, he passes before Jesus begins his adult ministry.

And yet we remember him each Christmas for his shepherding, protecting, and faith. We should all add a bit of thanks to Joseph each day we pray in Jesus’ name. Because like so many faithful servants of Christ, He obeyed out of love. He didn’t ask or require that “thanks.” He didn’t harbor ill will for having to endure hardship. He put his head down, his hands out and his heart lifted and said to God, “I will.”

I want to share with you the rest of the letter written to Epworth Children’s Home by the foster father:

“I will end with this. This is especially for you guys and fathers. If you feel God tugging at your heart to become a foster parent, listen! There will always be a reason to not become a foster parent, but if your main reason is that you are scared your heart will be broken, then you especially need to do it. Foster children need someone who will be heartbroken over them. They need someone who is going to stick by them when things get hard. They haven’t experienced that. They need someone to love them and be gentle with them when they come over and hit you in the face with a maraca and break your glasses (not that I have ever had that happen, that is completely hypothetical, of course!). They need someone who is going to be faithful to them and strong for them in their weakest moments. I am by no means perfect in any of those, but I am strong in my faith, and it provides me the love, strength and grace that I need. Fostering has made me more dependent on God, in everything, and that is good. Ultimately, I am a foster child who was adopted into His family, and I am fully loved.”

Amen.

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The Strong, Silent Type

August 16, 2020August 14, 2020 krisshetter

When I think of shepherds, the farmer in the movie “Babe” comes to mind. He had complete control over his flock with simple grunts, murmurs, or hand motions. The farm animals look at him like a god. But then there was Babe, the pig. He wanted more. As a pig he was supposed to simply eat and get fat. His future was the dinner table. But he wanted to be a shepherd. Why? Because shepherds protect. They lead. They have a love for their flock. At first, Farmer Hoggett resisted. And Babe persisted. What followed was a beautiful story of the Shepherd teaching and guiding another to become a shepherd as well. I love the little song Farmer Hoggett sings to Babe:

Can’t you just imagine Jesus quietly singing these words as he walked with the disciples along the Sea of Galilee? Or around the campfire in the Garden of Gethsemane before the soldiers came? Yes, Jesus was quite a force when it came to speaking to Pharisees and Sadducees but throughout His ministry, I sense a quiet force. With just a nod, a whisper, a few well-placed words He touched thousands.

God spoke to Jeremiah about the coming of Jesus and His trained shepherds: “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. Jer 3:15. He also warned of shepherds that would come against the people of God. Shepherds who “set traps to catch people.” Ones whose evil deeds have no limit. Shepherds who do not have the spiritual health of their flock in mind.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, stands as the touchstone for our spiritual shepherds. As his sheep, we listen only to His voice, his murmurs. When he gestures for us to come and follow we turn from the distractions and place our eyes only on him.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:14-16

Jesus leads us out of danger. He leads us to pastures that will sustain us. He brings us safely home to our Father. He loves us with His own life. He is the gatekeeper for our eternal salvation. Thank you, great Shepherd.

Do you have a favorite movie that has hidden meanings about God and His Kingdom? Share it in the comments below along with your praise for our Good Shepherd!