Since starting my podcast, I’ve been incredibly blessed to hear from women about who the Good Shepherd is in their personal tragedy. Revelation after revelation has been downloaded into my spirit, as they share their hearts with such transparency. When you leave the podcast conversation, you feel like you have a new friend.
Each time I have the chance to interview a woman about what it looks like for God to show Himself faithful in her life-changing circumstance, I learn a little bit more about why the God of the Holy Bible is qualified to enter into our pain and shepherd us through.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing the Roman soldiers would be there before long to arrest Him, Christ wrestled to bring His flesh into submission with His Father’s will. I imagine Satan whispered all the evil things to Jesus that he whispers in our ears trying to convince us how horrible and unworthy we are.
The God in Christ (fully man and fully God) knew what was coming, but He had to not only submit to the process but also endure the unbearable process in the flesh. Judas’s betrayal was in the works, and the lies against Christ would seal His death sentence. After the physical torture that the Roman soldiers were well known for, Jesus would no longer resemble a human. And then He still had to bear the despicable, excruciating death on the cross, including the absolute worst thing for a beloved Son to endure—the full wrath and separation from His beloved Father.
Christ’s struggle was real, and it overwhelmed His soul with sorrow to the point of death. It is no wonder He shed blood in the garden before He ever got to the cross. But to the cross He would go. He bent His will and submitted Himself to His Father believing that His Father God was who He said He was and that He would do what He said He’d do through His—God’s one and only Son’s—death and resurrection.
Christ destroyed the lies of Satan, death, and eternity in hell. He drove evil into the grave and only one Victor arose. The love of Christ Jesus overwhelmed the grave. The tomb could not hold Him, and He stripped death of any power it once held over us.
Now Christ comes to us, shows us His scars, and says, “I know the way. I’ve already won this battle. Let Me guide you through the pain. Let Me show you the way through.”
We do not have to be known by our labels or by the titles people try to put on us. Neither do we have to be known for our traumas or terrors because Christ offers us a different outcome. He offers us beauty for ashes.
Christ pierces the lies of this world and shows Himself as the Good Shepherd—qualified and faithful to guide us through. The valley may be our current reality, but the truth is the life that Christ purchased for us is freedom in the here and now. We will not be known for our pain, but we will be known for the extravagant love of a Father who sees us as worthy of His sacrifice and every drop of blood He had.
Self Reflection
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.
Give three reasons why the God of the Holy Bible is qualified to guide you through your pain.
· Have you ever been betrayed? What did that feel like?
· Have you ever betrayed someone? Based on your betrayal, what was the outcome? Explain.
· Have you ever been lied about? How did that feel?
· Have you ever lied about or to someone else? Based on your lie, what was the outcome?
· Can you feel the heart of Christ as a human dealing with lies and betrayal?
Here’s a link (Britannica) with info about what exactly a crucifixion is: https://www.britannica.com/topic/crucifixion-capital-punishment
Take Action
Use God’s Word to take control over the traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises in His Word.
Here is a scripture for you to print, cut and carry with you and/or post in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
Here is what God’s Word says about His unfailing, relentless, unending love for you:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”— John 10:10-14 (NIV)
Translation: The Good Shepherd who has invested His whole life in His flock, knows them and cares for them. He will never abandon or betray His beloved. Unlike someone who has no investment or dedication to the flock, the Good Shepherd sees trouble before it threatens His beloved, and He does not hesitate to lay down His life for them.
