Be Still And Know

READ: Isaiah 56.9-11 NLT Come, wild animals of the field! Come, wild animals of the forest! Come and devour my people! For the leaders of my people—the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds— are blind and ignorant. They are like silent watchdogs that give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming. Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied. As a church leader I find these words incredibly challenging and agonisingly sad. I am sure that we have all known church leaders who have worked extremely hard and they have rightfully earned people’s love and respect. But there are lazy leaders as well. Here Isaiah depicts the way in which spiritual leaders in his own day had totally missed the point. They were the opposite of shepherds. They didn’t care for the sheep at all. Their only concern was to have a good time and Isaiah goes on to describe how they loved to party and get drunk, and then to plan even bigger parties.  If you are a church leader then, like me, you will want to hear the