Amber N. Johnson MD is a physician in pulmonary and critical care medicine, as well as a writer, speaker, and a prophetic voice. She has a heart for people to be radically touched by the love of the Father, the grace of Jesus, and the sweet friendship of Holy Spirit. She is the founder of Arise Ministries, a non-profit ministry dedicated to connecting people to the logos and rhema word and heart of God, enabling people to walk in the freedom of Jesus and fullness of the faith, and accurately teaching the word of God. She is also the founder and president of Stand Fast in Freedom, a nonprofit organization dedicated to provide healing and restoration to young women and girls affected by human trafficking. She is author of the book, “You are Powerful: Becoming the Woman of Power and Purpose God Created You to Be.” She resides in Omaha, Nebraska.
I Myself Will Shepherd You – A Word by Amber Johnson
Amber Johnson
Email: [email protected]
For thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out…. I will feed them with good pasture… I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down,” declares the Lord God. “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” Ezekiel 34:11-16
Recently I was reading this passage from Ezekiel, and it resonated in my spirit so strongly for the season we are in.
In the recent months and years, many have been met with the heartache of seeing leaders fail to lead for the Kingdom, compromise in their purity, or leave devotion to Jesus for the pursuit of other loves. Many have even experienced neglect or abuse within the church as effects of these compromises in purity.
Watching leaders fall is devastating in a way nothing else compares to. To be let down by the very ones sent to support or torn down by the ones meant to build up can make us question the very framework with which we make sense of the world.
Israel was experiencing this same heartache of compromised, fallen leadership during Ezekiel’s time. Then as now, the Lord rebukes fallen leadership for seeking selfish gain at the expense of those they are called to shepherd (Ezekiel 34:2-3), and for neglecting to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, recover the prodigals and pursue the lost (34:4).
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
But in the wake of the hurts and disappointments, I hear the Lord say as He did to Israel, “I will shepherd you Myself.”
To those who have been hurt, discarded, or neglected by leaders who bowed to the fear of man, I hear the Lord say, “I will seek you out.”
To those still bleeding with no end in sight to your heavy broken heart, I hear the Lord say, “I will bind up your broken heart.”
To those who hunger for righteousness and justice, I hear the Lord say, “I will feed you.”
To those who are tired and weary from relentless battle, I hear the Lord say, “I will lead you to green pastures. I restore your soul.”
Jesus tells us He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11). There is no selfishness in Him, nor any pursuit that could risk our expense. The Father held nothing back in giving us His Son (Romans 8:32) and the Son held nothing back in giving His own life. He is so worthy of our trust.
You can trust Jesus, friends. He is the good shepherd. Jesus warns there are “hired helpers” in the church who flee in hardship rather than defend the flock because they do not “own” the sheep (John 10:12-13). Jesus is the only Shepherd who purchased you. He purchased you with His blood. No other shepherd even could do such a thing as Jesus did for you. There is no length He would not go to for you because there is no length He didn’t already go to for you. He has already given all; He has everything under His feet (Ephesians 1:22, 1 Corinthians 15:27) and therefore has every right to freely give us of the “all” that He has access to (Romans 8:32). And He does! He holds nothing back. He is the perfect Shepherd.
JESUS IS HEAD OF THE BODY
Leaders are to be gifts to the body of Christ (see Ephesians 4). I so value every spiritual leader the Lord has given me to draw me closer to Him and increase my understanding of His word. I also believe that like any gift, gifts can be misused and when misused they are no longer helpful and can even be harmful. I believe this is what has occurred with leaders in the church on a widescale: we misused the gift and became negligent of our own responsibility to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons – we forgot this is a church body mandate and not a church leadership mandate, and when we gave all the responsibility to leadership and took it off ourselves, our perspective became shifted and we started lifting leaders much too high onto pedestals they were never meant to be on. We forgot that the leaders are human, and for the most part we forgot to check them against the word and against the confirmation of other prophets (1 Corinthians 14:29). Unchecked leaders became dangers rather than gifts, and as we’ve seen leaders fall, we have been devastated deeply because people have much farther to fall when we have them lifted up on a pedestal they don’t belong on.
Not every leader and not every church fits into this category. There are leaders in the body of Christ right now that are committed to Jesus as First Love and who are leading us so well during this season of transition and purification. But I also believe that in a season where we have seen and are seeing many fall, there is a responsibility on us to make sure we are keeping leaders in proper alignment under Jesus because raising them too high puts them at risk of greater fall. Jesus is the only Shepherd that purchased the sheep with His own blood. No other leader “owns” you or has a right to your life like Jesus does. When human leaders become possessive of their people, something is off; something is being taken from Jesus that rightfully belongs to Him alone.
I believe that for what is coming, it is so important for us to get this right. In order to bring in the end-time harvest, we need to have leaders in proper alignment under Jesus. We need Jesus to take His rightful place as head of His church. Right now I feel the urgency of the call to let Jesus be the Good Shepherd He longs to be, to let Him take His rightful place and allow Him to shepherd our hearts. I hear His call to let Him shepherd us Himself, leading us beside still waters and restoring our souls as He resets His church in preparation for the glory that is coming.
“The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where he restores and revives my life.” Psalm 23:1-3 TPT
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