You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. – Ezekiel 34:4

Today's Scripture Reading (October 2, 2026): Ezekiel 34

Sometimes it is so easy to be so busy living that we lose sight of what we are supposed to be doing. Sometimes we need to take a beat, re-evaluate our activity, and ask: Is the important stuff getting done, or are we just working on busy activities that fill our days but don't really get us anywhere? Being busy isn't enough. However, it also isn't about what we can do alone. Life's tasks are often too big for any of us, and we need a reminder that life is about the team we have built around us.

Ezekiel compares leading Israel to leading sheep. The Prophet outlines the shepherd's job, a task too big for any one person, yet it still needed to be accomplished. If it weren't, then a nation would be lost. In Ezekiel's reality, the shepherds had already failed, and the people were in trouble as a result.

According to Ezekiel, the shepherd's job was to encourage the people, help the hurting heal, and seek the lost. It wasn't optional; it was a task we were called to complete.  So, the question Ezekiel wanted the Shepherds to ask was, "How are we doing?" Even though he was stuck in Babylon among the exiles, the people still needed Jewish shepherds who were caring for the hurting Jewish population.

I have to admit that sometimes the hardest part of the job description is being encouraging. It is so easy to slip into the negative instead of encouraging those around us. Right now, the negative seems to rule our news; it is so easy to wish the weak were stronger rather than taking steps to help them become strong. One thing I want those around me to understand is that our task is to develop leaders, not to steal established leaders from other organizations.

The sheep need us to lead with everything that God has given to us. I hope that we are ready to do it. I dream of the day when we team up to make sure everyone in our communities reaches their potential. Maybe Ezekiel's question is what we need to ask. How are we doing?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 35