I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. (Ezek. 34:15)
Expanded Passage: Ezekiel 34:15
If something is personal to us that means that we consider it important. We give our time and resources to the things that we hold as important—whether it be our spouse, our children, our parents, our friends, our job, our church, or whatever it is. What a blessing it is to know that we are important to the Lord.
Do you believe, truly believe, that you are important to God? You are! How do we know this? He does not delegate someone else to care for us. He tells us that he, himself, will take care of us. He is up close and personal with us. He knows the details of our lives, and he pays attention to our joys and sorrows. He hears our prayers and saves our tears. Why else would he know the very number of hairs on our head? Only a personal God would care that much about our lives.
Our world can often treat us in impersonal ways, making us feel unimportant. That’s not a good feeling. It makes us feel like we don’t matter, like we’re unseen, unwanted, unnecessary, or unloved. But God sees us! He himself tends to his sheep and calls us by our name.
To know that I serve a God who knows me personally gives me great comfort, and I hope it does the same for you today.
Praise God for being up close and personal in your life.
Deborah Rhodes is colead pastor of Parkside Church in Greenville, S.C. She is passionate about studying and teaching God’s Word.
© 2023 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.