By[25] “Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.” — Zechariah 13:7 NIV
Who’s a shepherd? One who takes care of sheep. Right? In the kingdom of God, pastors and kingdom entrepreneurs are leaders. Hence, they are shepherds to people who’re under them. Whenever something happens to them, it affects everyone under them.
As a young preacher, I’ve seen this principle work several times in my life, as well as other ministers I know. Whenever they learn something new about leadership from anywhere, including myself, it affects their organisation. Most of the time, it’s for a good cause because every spiritual leader who is faithful to God will hardly learn something and implement it contrary to God’s principles.
When Jesus was about to be crucified, that was the time His whole team experienced much division. It was so evident that His immediate and probably closest associate – Peter, denied Him three times. Their Shepherd was about to be stricken, and it looked like Jesus had no church, not even His eleven disciples (by then, Judas Iscariot had already betrayed Him and excommunicated himself from the brethren). How sad!
Dear congregant, the principle in God’s Word is clear: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Your pastor needs more vision and insight into the direction of God’s ministry under his care every day. If something evil happens to him, it’ll affect you. So don’t merely expect to be spiritually fed on ministration service days without sowing even a seed of prayer into their lives.
Many pastors have emotional problems. They battle with loneliness and pressure from the church and their family members. Even Jesus was so troubled that He sweated blood in the garden of Gethsemane. Therefore, don’t underestimate the power of maintaining spiritual sanity in the life of a kingdom leader. Let him lead you as unto the Lord. Do what he tells you if it’ll broaden the vision. And God will reward you.
You’re a blessing.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for the immense love You’ve shown me all these years of ministry. I pray for every minister out there; strengthen them with might to keep pressing on in doing Your work. Give them whatever they need, especially faithful ministers, to expand the corporate vision of their ministries. In the name of Jesus. Amen!
Devotional Code: KGD – 2023 – 328
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