Isaiah 40:11 (49:9-10) The Lord will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

Karis was ten. We were in Detroit for surgery on her intestine. The rest of our family was at home in São Paulo, Brazil. (I learned later that eight-year-old Rachel had started a fire in the kitchen trying to cook for her siblings while Dave was out. A neighbor “happened” by, put out the fire, took my children to her house to feed them, and later had words with their father. But that’s another story…)

Before she was taken through the double doors into the surgery suite, I overheard Karis tell a new friend at the hospital that she wasn’t afraid, for herself or for me, because of Isaiah 40:11. The Holy Spirit shot that assurance straight into my heart, puncturing an expanding balloon of worry. Every time I hear Jesus referred to as Shepherd, I flash back to that precious moment.

Our Brazilian friend Roseli painted this for Rachel.

Turn to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls … The Lamb on the throne will be your Shepherd. He will lead you to springs of life-giving water and wipe every tear from your eyes (1 Peter 2:25, Revelation 7:17).

The Lord’s My Shepherd, Stuart Townend