And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace. Micah 5:4-5a
I have fun asking kids what they would do with a great amount of money. Candy! Potato chips! So how does Jesus use His greatness? Luke 1:32 promised that Jesus will be great. Micah 5:4 says the same thing, adding that His greatness will extend to the whole world. But to what point?
Jesus will use His greatness to shepherd His people! In Micah 5, this promise is given when Israel was facing disasters – Jerusalem was invaded; the king was beaten; Assyria was trampling about the land (Micah 5:1, 5). In a dark moment, Jesus will shepherd His people. So, in your dark moments, Jesus uses His greatness to shepherd you.
Being a shepherd involves tremendous attention, care, and patience. It’s also intensely personal, as a shepherd must have a close relationship with each of his sheep. Learning the who of Christmas – Jesus – is how you trust Him with your cares.
A Prayer: Jesus, You invite us to cast our cares on You. Why do we struggle to do this? Increase our trust in how great You are so that we will give to You our cares … and not take them back.