Peter Hoover

“The LORD is my shepherd,” David the shepherd boy sang, and when Samuel the prophet came to find a new king, David, the youngest of his brothers, fit the bill—exactly.

What did David have that all of his brothers’ did not?

He had a shepherd’s heart.

David not only cared for his sheep, he led them to springs of water and kept discovering hidden pockets of green in a vast arid land. With a kinnor—a small handcrafted lyre he kept in his shepherd’s pouch—he loved to sing, regaling his flock with no end of happy, sad, or worshipful songs he composed himself, although no one but the LORD could hear.

A true shepherd, always attends to his flock’s best interest.

When a bear, and later a lion, attacked his sheep, David risked his life to defend them. So, with the same fearless skill, when a pagan giant threatened the LORD’s army and no one dared to stop him, young David—wearing nothing other than his shepherd’s cloak and pouch—knew just what to do. Choosing a few smooth stones, he fitted his sling, whirling it about, and let it fly! You know how it went.

An undaunted shepherd, facing what seemed an insurmountable challenge, he had already learned “there is always a way”—with the LORD.

Years later, the prophet Ezekiel spoke about true and false shepherds. “Woe to you shepherds of Israel,” he wrote, “who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You are eating the best parts, clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering your sheep without having fed them! You have not strengthened the weak, treated the sick, set broken bones, regathered the scattered, or looked for the lost. Instead, you have dominated them with sheer brutal force and ruthlessness. Your flock has scattered and become prey for all sorts of wild animals. . . .”¹

The prophet continues with nothing but dire warnings for those who claim to tend sheep yet ignore their needs.

Not without reason, the night the angels announce the Messiah’s birth over a huddle of awestruck shepherds tending their flocks on the Judaean hills. Jesus, the Messiah, later said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”² Unlike a hired hand who does not own the sheep but runs when danger threatens, he also knows his sheep by name, they recognise his voice and follow him.

After Jesus’ ascension his remaining disciples tried to shepherd His flock. To replace Judas, they cast lots and chose Matthias to take his place. But, once the Spirit of the LORD filled their hearts, no such human appointment was needed. Instead, Spirit directed shepherds, like David of Bethlehem who knew how to care for his sheep, led them to living water, sang for them, defended them and saved them from whatever spiritual dangers attacked them.

Can any Christian become a shepherd? Does church ordination turn anyone into a real shepherd, able to keep the flock together, well fed, constantly protected, joyfully contented and flourishing spiritually?

Not automatically.

A shepherd’s heart only comes as a gift from the LORD. It cannot be developed by any amount of study, correct doctrine, church ordination or any amount of votes in favour.

The Apostle Paul describes real shepherds and where they come from. “If anyone sets his heart on being a shepherd, he desires a noble task. Only the shepherd must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. . . .”³

Paul explains how one may identify a real shepherd and what he does, but he never suggests that the church should attempt to “make shepherds” out of anyone. All that needs to be done is recognize those who have a shepherd’s heart—a gift from the LORD—who already “desires that noble task.” Not through casting lots or through majority vote, but through allowing men to function their gift as needed.

Any healthy young man may become a construction worker, a truck driver, a dentist, a lawyer, a teacher, an artist—as needs arise and opportunities come. But only those with a shepherd’s heart may lead and care for the LORD’s flock.

Do real shepherds automatically do what is right? As in the case of David, they also face temptations, struggle to overcome sin and need to constantly choose what is right. Passionate by nature, they love deeply, they sing joyfully, they write fervently, they pour their lives into those around them. Not by appointment but through the gift within them, they easily spot needy, injured, frightened or timid souls, knowing from the LORD how to help or fix as needed.

The best that Christians may do with those blessed with a shepherd’s heart is to identify the gift and let those who have it serve as the LORD leads.

Too many shepherds at one place? Let the LORD provide opportunities to serve and all things happen as He wills. The more real shepherds, the more sheep they will find to serve.

Has the LORD given you a shepherd’s heart? Do not stifle it. Do not put it on display. Rather, allow the LORD to use it for His glory—His glory, not yours—and no end of opportunities will arise around you.

Use your gift, zealously, no matter how lowly or hidden it may seem, and sooner or later not only the LORD but also his people will identify it—like what happened with David—and you will have no end of things to do for the rest of your life.

The LORD needs you. He definitely wants you. If you choose to walk with Him he will fill your shepherd’s heart with His love and the wisdom you need to serve Him well.

Trust Him!