Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
9 21 2026
The Shepherd Knows Where to Find You
The Lord gave me a word of encouragement Sunday in worship. But it wasn’t just for me.
“The Shepherd knows where to find you.”
Lost and bleeding. Scared, alone, displaced and hiding. Totally off the grid, hiding from sight.
You may not be quite that low, but aren’t we all hiding something? Don’t we all have closed closets?
Yet the Shepherd knows how to not just find me, but touch me, place His hand on me and say, “I’m here. For you.
I will never leave you or forsake you. I am the Good Shepherd, and nothing falls from the palm of My hand.”
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
It doesn’t matter what failed. Who failed. You failed.
It can never be so dark that He can’t find you and give you light for another day.
One Day – Today
“Even the darkness is not dark to You; the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light with You.” (Psalm 139:12)
Sometimes He takes us to a prison to see us free. (OK don’t panic) In shaping us for His works, it can look like the dead end to something. It can look like there’s no way out and maybe there’s not.
How many ways are there to die to yourself?
But here… now… Lord?
Not now.
How do you schedule your times to die that signifies picking up your cross to follow him? Honestly, when was the last time you fell on your own sword to die…to an unholy element within you? To destroy a bridge that had been your pathway to the wrong house, an addiction, a trap?
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) When Jesus picked up His cross it was on the way to Calvary… On the way to die for each of us.
Truthfully, I never knew He lived so close to the floor…
so close to the bottom of my life, that He would even consider me.
Have you ever seriously thought about that?
1st Chronicles: 17:17 says, “And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as if I were the most exalted of men.” David spoke these words I completely understand: “Who am I, Lord, that you would consider me” 2 Sam 7:18
What father doesn’t hold a son’s hand or place it on his chest to keep him from stepping into traffic? Sometimes it’s Him stooping down to reset the broken pieces after an ugly fall or treating the disease after a lengthy illness had taken me down.
I understand that sometimes events, circumstances and mistakes occur that hurt. It appears there is no way out…a prison of sorts. A place where we come face-to-face with the Devil in certain places that have to die. Places that have been causing us to hide from God. Places that must be put to death so His light might shine, so that we can be free.
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature…” (Colossians 3:5)
Like cataract surgery…literal scales removed from our eyes so we can see the Father’s way. The path to love, forgiveness and freedom that all came from what looked like being trapped in a prison of sorts.
Does faith have a price? What about obedience? Forgiveness of ourselves? Isn’t there a price to expel the chaff and ugly from our lives…that we might become more like Him? But we can only see that with eyes in the spirit.
He paid a price unimaginable, and He still said, “Pick up your cross and follow Me.”
The seed must die before it can bring in a harvest. We know that, yet we seldom fall on the sword that will lead us to the freedom harvest.
Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
So, the Shepherd knows where we hide and where we buried…that! He knows the pain that bit of darkness cost. He knows the shame, the price it has cost you in so many vital areas of your life, and how they have stifled your light.
So now what? … Pray to be desperate for Him. Pray He puts a love in you for Him that overflows into everything you touch and believe for. Pray to yearn… to just sit and meditate on Jesus alone…until you are caught up in the Awe that is JESUS.
Remember, the Good Shepherd promises to work this process to your good and His glory.
Until we know…that we know…that we know… His promise… that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.
How can we honestly trust Him…rest in the peace of that truth…that promise?
What if the Shepherd has come looking for the one thing in you that must die so something holy can live?
Ponder that… pray for discernment, until… it becomes clean… and then kill it!
Now that is Freedom!
Thank you for spending these few minutes with me today. My prayer is that these devotionals don’t simply give you something to think about, but draw you into a deeper love for Jesus Christ and His community.
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If you’d like to go even deeper, I’d love to invite you to join me continuing on ever Tuesday, until Oct 6th, for my free online course, Discovering Jesus. We’ll meet Tuesday evenings from 7:00–8:30 p.m. as we explore the foundational truths of our faith and, more importantly, deepen our relationship with Christ. You’re welcome to invite your spouse, family members, friends, or neighbors. I’ll provide all of the materials at no charge. Just let me know.. To join the online live video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/zkb-dxcq-iau
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus…because He truly is the Treasure.
Broken and Spilled out. Steve Green
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pklUAB4E4nA
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