“I myself will gather the remnant of my flock . . . and will bring them back to their pasture . . . I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.

Devotion based on Jeremiah 23:3,4

You have, no doubt, heard it said, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” A parent gives a child a task but feels compelled to step in and fix it when things go wrong. A church leader assigns a project to a volunteer but is frustrated when it doesn’t turn out as planned.

That’s not a good approach to parenting or leadership. It is usually better to let people grow and learn from their mistakes than to do it for them. But sometimes, you have no choice. You have to step in and do it yourself.

Six centuries before Jesus was born, the spiritual shepherds of Israel weren’t doing their job. They were hurting the people instead of helping them. Instead of speaking the truth and leading the people to the Lord, they were telling lies and leading them to pray to and worship false gods.

When God saw this, he was furious. Out of love for his people, he punished those false teachers. And he took matters into his own hands. He sent faithful pastors and prophets to speak the truth and care for the people.

Six hundred years later, God showed his love even more vividly. He took matters into his own hands when he sent his own Son. Jesus came to rescue us, who too easily believe lies and wander from the truth. He knew we were helpless to save ourselves, so he did it for us, dying in our place to save us from death.

God loves you too much to let anything go wrong with your eternity. He took matters into his own hands so that you could be with him forever.

Prayer: