Sometimes God’s Word sounds outdated.

My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them. (Ezekiel 34:6)

Yeah, yeah, whatever. So some sheep were lost. Personally, I don’t see a lot of sheep roaming around on unfenced hills. But maybe we can relate more than it seems at first glance. We can probably all agree that “my flock went astray” indicates a problem, and we’ve all had problems. We’ve all felt out of sorts, missing something that we wanted to recover. Sometimes we can put a name on it, and other times, it’s something we sense. We’re just disoriented and dissatisfied and a bit empty. We feel a bit like those astray sheep – scattered and left by ourselves without anyone searching for us.

We want help. We need help.

I Myself will search for My flock and look for them. As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy and dark day. I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will tend them with good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will tend My flock and let them lie down. This is the declaration of the Lord God. I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice. (Ezekiel 24:11a-16)

Found feels better than lost. Fed is better than hungry. Tended feels better than overlooked. Strengthened feels better than weakened. Sought after is better than forgotten.

Maybe we can relate to Scripture more than we think at times.