S2 Ep.15-The Good Shepherd

You can do everything “right” and still not know what’s next. That’s the tension I sit with today: our deep desire for a clear plan, and the reality that life with God often feels like walking forward without a map. Rather than forcing quick answers, I slow down and listen again to an old, familiar story that still has breath in it.

I read John 10:11–18, where Jesus names himself the Good Shepherd and draws a sharp contrast with the hired hand who runs when the wolf comes. The point isn’t perfect certainty or a tidy blueprint for your future. The point is relationship, presence, and being known. If you’ve carried the quiet fear of being unseen, reduced to a role, or left alone when things get hard, this passage speaks directly to that ache with steady tenderness.

We also rethink what it means to “go boldly.” Boldness doesn’t have to be loud, dramatic, or fearless. Sometimes it’s choosing compassion when the world feels divided, choosing love when it feels vulnerable, and choosing trust when certainty isn’t available. I close with a prayer for guidance and grace, and a reminder to be gentle with your journey.

If this brings you a moment of peace, subscribe for more Christian reflection and Bible-based encouragement, share this with someone who needs steadiness today, and leave a review so more listeners can find the comfort of the Good Shepherd.

Let's Get Into It!!

Transcript

A Living Bible For Today

Speaker 0:08

Welcome friends to Ancient Truth for the Modern Heart. I'm Steve Pozzato, and as always, I am grateful that you are here to spend this time with me. Wherever you're listening from today, whether it's in your car or at home or out on a walk, I hope you can take just a moment and settle into this. Ancient Truth for the Modern Heart is a space where we can take these old familiar stories and listen again. Because the Bible is not some static document. It is alive. And it is for us to continue to live in and to live through. And for it to live through us. I hope you feel that warmth, that joy, that hope that it gives you. I don't need you to figure everything out. But the Bible does ask us to notice what rises from the word, what resonates, and what in that document meets us gently where we are. Settle in, folks, with that comforting thought that these stories continue to be a part of us and our experience with God. Sometimes we want the Bible to tell us where to go, as if it is some sort of manual or instruction book, but that's not always the truth. The message is not always so clear to us. But there is something deeply human about wanting to know where we're going, right? We want clarity. We want a plan, a sense that the path ahead is certain. We want to feel like we're moving in the right direction, and yet so much of life itself doesn't give us that. It doesn't hand us a map. Instead, just as life is with the Bible, and just as the Bible is with life, this all feels more like exploration through our experience with God. Like stepping into something unknown, like moving forward without fully knowing what comes next.

A Mapless Life And Quiet Courage

Speaker 2:50

There's a phrase many of us know, if you've ever watched Star Trek The Next Generation, or any Star Trek since, that has used Gene Roddenberry's wonderful words to boldly go where no one has gone before. And maybe that's a beautiful sentiment for life for us. Maybe what makes that line so powerful is that it speaks to something true. Because whether we realize it or not, my friends, we are always going. We are always stepping into something new. A new season, a new challenge, a new understanding of ourselves. And the truth is, it doesn't always feel bold. Sometimes it feels uncertain or quiet. And sometimes it feels like we're just trying to take the next step.

John 10 And The Good Shepherd

Speaker 3:54

And our scripture for today comes from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 11 through 18. And just before we hear it, it's worth noting this. Jesus doesn't offer a road map, he offers something else. He speaks about being a shepherd, about knowing and about being known, about staying when others might walk away. So as you listen, listen for what stands out. Listen for what feels familiar. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. Just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

Presence Over Instructions

Speaker 6:05

He doesn't say, here is exactly where you're going to go. He doesn't say, here's how to avoid every difficulty. Instead, he speaks about relationship, about knowing, about staying connected. Because we so often want a map, an instruction book, a guidebook. But what we are given is presence. And the unknown is still the path. If life is really a kind of journey into the unknown, then maybe faith isn't about eliminating uncertainty. But instead, perhaps it's about learning how to move through it. Because the truth is, we don't always know what's ahead. We don't always understand what it is we're walking into, but we are still invited to move. Still invited to take the next step. Still invited to go. And let's talk about the difference between the shepherd and the hired hand. In this passage, Jesus draws a contrast between the one who stays and the one who leaves. The one who is invested, or the one who walks away when things get too hard. And so this isn't just about leadership. It's about presence. Again, because there are moments in life when things become uncertain or difficult, and we cause ourselves to wonder. Will anyone stay? And what this passage tells us is this Jesus Christ stays. And not because everything is easy, but because relationship matters. The connection matters. This relationship that we have with the Christ, with God, with the Spirit, with ourselves, it matters. And if you think about it, one of the quiet fears that we carry is the fear of being unknown. So those relationships do matter. We want them. We want to be in relationship with Christ, with God, with ourselves. Because we don't want to feel like we are just one small life in such a very big world. And yet this passage from John says something different. It speaks of being known deeply, personally, not just as a number, not just as some role to fill, but as a person. And maybe that's the real grounding, after all, folks. Not that we know everything, but that we are known.

Redefining Boldness In Uncertainty

Speaker 9:20

And so when we think of going, perhaps boldly, we can reimagine what that word means. Because we often think of boldness as something loud, right? Something certain and something fearless, maybe. But what if boldness looks a little bit different? What if boldness is taking the next step, even when you don't have the full picture? What if boldness is trusting even when you don't have all the answers? Especially when you don't have all the answers? What if boldness is continuing forward not because you're unafraid, but because you are not alone. Maybe going boldly isn't always meaning that we must go somewhere dramatically, or to go somewhere dramatic. Maybe it means going into honestly any place that would be easier to avoid. Going into compassion when the world feels divided, going into love when it feels vulnerable, or going into trust when certainty is not available. But the shepherd goes with us. And that is the quiet truth at the center of all of this. We are not and never are and never have been sent out alone. The image of the shepherd is not about distance again, it is about presence. It's about someone who knows the path because they walk it too. Someone who doesn't just point the way, but stays. And maybe that's what allows us to move forward. Not certainty, but presence. Because the good shepherd knows his sheep and cares for them. Our shepherd knows us and cares for us. So wherever you are today, maybe life feels clear, or maybe it feels uncertain. Maybe you feel like you're stepping into something new, or maybe you're just trying to take the next step. And this passage doesn't promise that everything will be easy, as everything is never easy. But it does offer something steady. You are known. You are not alone. And even in the unknown, there is a presence that goes with you. And maybe, just maybe, to boldly go where others dare not go, is not about having all the answers, but about trusting that we are held even as we move forward.

Share The Peace With Someone

Speaker 12:57

If this gave you a moment of peace today, or something to carry with you, I'd invite you to share it with somebody who might need it too. Because my friends, life, the Bible, these passages, everything that we are is a journey. A journey we go through together. Because none of us is alone. We have a good shepherd. We have a really good shepherd. And he cares for us, my friends.

Prayer And Gentle Sending

Speaker 13:42

Let us pray. God of limitless love, God of the shepherd's crook, guide us and walk with us in presence. Remind us that you know us, that even in our moments of doubt and uncertainty, you are with us. You will not leave us because you are the good shepherd. May we remember that all that we are, and all that we struggle with, and all that we cannot come to terms with, and all the steps we take in our journey are taken not by ourselves, but with you. Remind us always that we are loved because you love us, because the good shepherd loves his flock. Amen. My friends, until next time we meet, take care of yourself, be gentle with your journey, and give yourself some grace. We are all but human. And that can mean many things on many different days. But today, let it mean that the good shepherd walks with us because he cares for us. Let it mean that the good shepherd knows us and we remember it. Thank you again for joining me here today. And until next time, farewell and be well. Carry the shepherd's love with you. Because wherever you carry love, there will you go in peace.