The Sheep Do Not Take Care of the Shepherd

The Sheep Do Not Take Care of the Shepherd

A pastor reached out to me recently, frustrated and discouraged with some of the people he had been called to serve.

As we talked, I shared something I learned a long time ago.

The sheep do not take care of the shepherd. The shepherd takes care of the sheep.

Now, before someone misunderstands me, I know there are wonderful people in our churches who love, encourage, pray for, and care for their pastors. I thank God for every one of them. Scripture teaches that those who labor among us in ministry deserve our love, respect, and care.

But there's a lesson here that took me some years to learn.

You can spend your life visiting the sick, comforting the grieving, encouraging the discouraged, answering the telephone in the middle of the night, and carrying burdens that most people will never know about.

And there will be times when you're the one hurting, exhausted, discouraged, or struggling, and very few people seem to notice.

Sometimes the very people you've spent years caring for will disappoint you. Some may misunderstand you. Others may never appreciate what you've done for them.

And if we're not careful, disappointment can become frustration, frustration can become resentment, and resentment can rob us of the very love that brought us into ministry.

But here's what I've come to understand.

When the burdens of ministry become too heavy, we must return to the One who called us, rather than look to the people He sent us to serve.

I believe one of the greatest dangers in ministry is becoming so consumed with doing the Lord's work that we neglect our own fellowship with the Lord.

We spend our days listening to the burdens of others, yet sometimes fail to bring our own burdens before Him.

We encourage others to trust God while quietly trying to carry everything ourselves.

We tell people to rest in the Lord while convincing ourselves that we don't have time to rest.

And somewhere along the way, we can become so busy serving Jesus that we neglect spending time with Jesus.

I think about the conversation Jesus had with Peter in John 21.

Before Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep, He asked him a simple question.

"Do you love Me?"

Three times Jesus asked Peter about his love for Him, and three times He directed Peter toward caring for His sheep.

I've often wondered how much frustration we could spare ourselves in ministry if we returned to that question more often.

Not, "Do the people appreciate me?"

Not, "Do they recognize the sacrifices I've made?"

Not, "Do they understand how much I've given?"

But simply, "Do you love Me?"

Because that is where our calling begins, and that is where we must continually return.

We don't serve people because they always deserve our service. We serve them because we love the Lord who called us to serve them.

And that brings me to one final thought.

Even the shepherd is still a sheep in need of a Shepherd.

We were never called to be everything to everybody. We cannot heal every wound, solve every problem, or carry every burden. And we certainly cannot do the work of the Holy Spirit.

We need prayer. We need rest. We need fellowship. We need trusted brothers and sisters who will encourage us, correct us when necessary, and walk alongside us.

But above everything else, we need Jesus.

To my fellow pastors, preachers, chaplains, and others who may be growing weary today, don't allow your disappointment with people to draw you away from the One who called you to love them.

And don't mistake the absence of appreciation for the absence of God's presence.

The sheep belong to Him. The calling came from Him. And the strength to continue must come from Him.

Sometimes the most important thing a weary shepherd can do is stop looking at the sheep long enough to look again at the One who sent him.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." — Matthew 11:28

~ ray mileur