Daily Devotional For Thursday, January 23, 2025

Well, we definitely had a winter wonderland on Wednesday morning. Hope all of you are safe and warm. It was pretty to see it fall and to look out at the beauty of it in the landscapes of neighborhoods. Have you ever been in a crisis of indecision or felt you were left without any protection? Have you ever felt that you were just thrown to the “wolves” and you were on your own. In some way, that seems to be how Jesus saw people when He came here. Look at Matthew 9:36-38:

“Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. (37) Then He said to His disciples, `The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. (38) Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’” (NASB).

One thing that always stands out about Jesus is His compassion for people. Several things here:

1. It says that Jesus had compassion on people. This is the Greek New Testament word [σπλαγχνίζομαι, splagchnizomai]. It means to feel in the bowels or intestines. It refers to deep moving emotions that are so intense they can cause physical maladies such as upset stomach, diarrhea and ulcers. This is not just some head knowledge or academic agreement that someone was in trouble. It refers to the ability to put yourself in their shoes, walk where they walk, experience what they experienced and to be impacted in the same way that person or people were. Then do something to help them. That’s our Lord.
2. It says here He saw them as “distressed.” This is the Greek New Testament word [σκύλλω, skullo]. This word has the root meaning of flaying or skinning, and the derived meanings of being harassed or severely troubled. It often connoted the ideas of being battered, bruised, mangled, ripped apart, worn out, and exhausted. Jesus saw the multitudes as being inwardly devastated by their sinful and hopeless condition.
3. It says here Jesus saw them as “dispirited.” This is the Greek New Testament word [ῥίπτω, ripto]. This word has the basic meaning of being thrown down prostrate and utterly helpless, as from drunkenness or a mortal wound.

A shepherd’s job is to protect and guide his sheep. Sheep have no means to protect themselves. They have no sharp claws, no fangs, no venomous bite or stinger and no means to climb out of danger. If a wolf or coyote appears without a shepherd, they flee and it is every sheep for itself. Shepherds will tell you that sheep are some of the “dumbest” animals. If one walks off a cliff, the whole flock will follow without the guidance and protection of a shepherd. Interest metaphor Jesus uses for us, isn’t it?

Author and head of Focus on the Family, James Dobson writes this about sheep:

“What are the characteristics of sheep that remind the Lord of you and me? What is He really saying when He refers to us in that way? Well, shepherds and ranchers tell us that these animals are virtually defenseless against predators, not very resourceful, inclined to follow one another into danger, and they are absolutely dependent on their human masters for safety. Thus, when David wrote, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray," he was referring to our tendency to move as an unthinking herd and away from the watchful care of the Shepherd.

I observed this herd instinct a few years ago in a documentary on television. It was filmed in a packing house where sheep were being slaughtered for the meat market. Huddled in pens outside were hundreds of nervous animals. They seemed to sense danger in their unfamiliar surroundings. Then a gate was opened that led up a ramp and through a door to the right. In order to get the sheep to walk up that ramp, the handlers used what is known as a "Judas goat." 

This is a goat that has been trained to lead the sheep into the slaughterhouse. The goat did his job very efficiently. He confidently walked to the bottom of the ramp and looked back. Then he took a few more steps and stopped again. The sheep looked at each other skittishly and then began moving toward the ramp. Eventually, they followed the confident goat to the top, where he went through a little gate to the left, but they were forced to turn to the right and went to their deaths. It was a dramatic illustration of unthinking, herd behavior and the deadly consequences it often brings” (Source: James Dobson, Life On The Edge, pp. 24-25).

We live in a culture where like sheep, people are led to their own spiritual, psychological and emotional “slaughter.” These younger generations who have had technology at their fingertips almost since birth say they feel so disconnected and empty rather than connected and encouraged. How is that possible with so many social media platforms out there? This younger generation is always on their phones and yet they feel empty. How can you be so online and at the same time feel so offline? 

Psychologist Madeline Levine has been counseling teenagers for over 25 years, but recently Levine has begun to see a new breed of unhappy teenagers—smart, successful, and privileged kids who feel utterly lost and empty. 

“For Levine, one client in particular typified this kind of unhappy teenager. Late on a Friday afternoon—the last appointment of her week—Levine saw a 15-year-old girl who was "bright, personable, highly pressured by her adoring, but frequently preoccupied … parents." The girl was also "very angry."

Levine quickly recognized the girl's "cutter disguise"—a long-sleeve t-shirt pulled halfway over her hand, with an opening torn in the cuff for her thumb. Such t-shirts are used to hide self-mutilating behaviors: cutting with sharp instruments, piercing with safety pins, or burning with matches. When the young girl pulled back her sleeve, Levine was startled to find that the girl had used a razor to carve the following word onto her forearm—"EMPTY."

Levine commented:

I tried to imagine how intensely unhappy my young patient must have felt to cut her distress into her flesh …. The most common thing I hear in my office from the kids is, "I'm fake." The surface of [their family life] always looks good …. The lawns are always perfectly manicured, the houses always look beautiful. But when you get to what's going on beneath these kids' T-shirts, there's not much happening inside” (Source: Madeline Levine, The Price of Privilege, pp. 3-5).

Jesus looks at the unbelieving world and is filled with compassion. He knows that people without Him are like sheep without a shepherd—wandering, vulnerable to attack, and unable to protect themselves. But He also gives a solution. “This is not a frightening time,” He tells us. “There is a great spiritual harvest just waiting to be brought in today. Now is not the time to sit back and hope someone else will seize the opportunity. This is your time. This is your opportunity to go to work in the harvest field.” 

Just as He gave His disciples spiritual authority and sent them out, He gives us spiritual authority and sends us out. I urge you to not wait for someone else to heed His call. I urge you to put on your work clothes and begin gathering the harvest. When you read Jesus’ words, take it personally. Accept His counsel, as though Jesus is talking directly to you. And understand that now is the time to be a worker in the Lord’s harvest.

Questions To Consider

1. How is it possible for a younger generation who has everything, including the best technology, to feel so empty and disconnected with their world?
2. Sociologists tell us that today there is a very needed skill that this younger generation lacks due to using texting and social media for their primary means of communication – they lack communication skills and interpersonal relational skills. Thus, they are prey for many predators. How can our church assist them in developing these skills?
3. When you look at people, especially those different or opposite from you, is your tendency to see them and feel for them as Jesus does – with compassion? Why or why not? 
4. In the story by Psychologist Madeline Levine about the teenage girl who had cut or carved into her skin the word “empty,” how would you suggest that we help her if she came to you?
5. James Dobson said he was shocked to see how easy it was to lead sheep to their slaughter by using what is called the “Judas goat.” What “Judas goats” do you think people follow today to their slaughter either emotionally or spiritually and why?

Scripture To Meditate On: Jeremiah 50:6, “My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill, And have forgotten their resting place” (NASB).

Prayer To Pray: “Heavenly Father, I need more awareness, receptiveness, and understanding of what You're doing in this day. Help me cultivate Your love and compassion for those who do not know You—with the courage and boldness to identify with Jesus and share His truth in every sphere of influence. Thank You that we will see the greatest harvest yielding to the Lordship of Jesus Christ that we have ever witnessed. In His name, Amen.”

I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly