Introduction: I remember in reading a brief but powerful spiritual reflection of a WWII survivor, wherein the author grappled with how and why some of his fellow Jews survived the spiritual anguish that accompanied the unspeakable physical and emotional horrors of Auschwitz. The author wrote something to this effect (I don’t have my copy of his book at my computer currently): “He who has a why to live can bear/endure almost any how.” The book is Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

Connection to Us: As a chaplain, one of the areas that occupies much of my time is ministering to those who are in need. That is the paradigm we have set in Scripture. The word pastor means “shepherd.” The man called by God is to shepherd the flock of people God has entrusted him with; he’s to care for the flock of God, to use Peter’s language: “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God that is among you . . .” (1 Peter 5:1-2, ESV). We see the biblical command to have qualified elders to shepherd the flock. So much of that shepherding means walking with them through the valleys that we all face in life. We are not to “talk at” people; rather, we are to walk alongside them as shepherds who love the sheep.

Encouragement: If you’re in the valley, look to the ultimate Shepherd, Christ himself, but also for the elder/pastor/under-shepherd who cares for you and is walking alongside you. If you’re not in a valley, be getting ready for one; such is the nature of this world (Romans 8:22-24).