They Will Come Running

I will strengthen Judah and save Israel;

I will restore them because of my compassion.

It will be as though I had never rejected them,

for I am the LORD their God, who will hear their cries.

The people of Israel will become like mighty warriors,

and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine.

Their children, too, will see it and be glad;

their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

When I whistle to them, they will come running,

for I have redeemed them. Zechariah 10:6-8

SHEPHERDS in biblical times herded their flocks by whistling or piping to them. That is the imagery Zechariah used to describe the way God was going to come and guide his people. The shepherds among God’s people had failed to lead them in his ways, but he promised to send a true Shepherd.

Some parents have trained their young kids to come running home when Mom or Dad open the door and whistle. Oh, if only it was that easy to get our kids to come home to God when they’re wandering away from him! While we don’t have the ability to create gladness and responsiveness toward God in our children simply by whistling, he does. In fact, that’s what he has promised to do in the lives of his people and their children. “When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them,” he says.

Here is hope for lost sheep. Our confidence is not based on their ability to find their way to God. Left on our own, none of us can or will come running in his direction. Our hope is that the Shepherd will come to find his lost sheep, pluck them out of danger, and carry them on his shoulders into the safety of his fold. When he whistles, they will come running.

Great Shepherd, we are waiting for you to do your work of restoration, listening for you to whistle, and watching for ________ to come running in your direction.