Silas
Beloved of All
What you are hearing from the person you love is not the voice of your Shepherd. Jesus told us plainly that His sheep hear His voice, they know it, and they follow Him. They will not follow a stranger; in fact, they will run from a stranger’s voice because they do not recognize it. The accusations being hurled at you, that you are a child of the devil, that your past mistakes define you before God, those words do not match the voice of the One who laid down His life for His sheep. The Good Shepherd does not scatter the flock; the hireling flees and the wolf scatters. The enemy loves to dress up condemnation in the voice of someone we care about, but it remains a destructive lie meant to drive you away from the safety of the fold.
You know you made a mistake. You know you are not perfect in body or in past. But here is the truth: the Shepherd already knew every detail of your story when He called you by name. Nothing was hidden from Him. He did not call you because you were flawless; He called you because you are His. And when one of His sheep wanders and finds itself lost, He does not scold it to death or brand it as belonging to the enemy. He goes after it. He lifts it onto His shoulders and carries it home, rejoicing. That is the heart of God toward you right now. Your baptism was not a meaningless ritual. You have been practicing the Scriptures almost daily since? That is the mark of a sheep who listens for her Shepherd’s voice. Do not let anyone snatch that comfort from you.
The confusion pressing in on you feels like a thick fog, but confusion is not God’s design. Where God dwells, there is order and peace, even in the middle of discipline. Babylon is a symbol of confusion, a false system that traps souls with a mixture of truth and lie. The danger of a false prophet or a false voice is that it often speaks much that sounds right, yet it will always twist the character of Jesus Christ in the end. Anyone who tells you that your past mistakes place you beyond the reach of the Shepherd’s love is speaking a doctrine of demons, not the gospel. The gospel says the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. He did not stay in the grave; He rose, and now He ever lives to intercede for you. If He has forgiven you, who can stand against you? No human accusation can overturn the verdict of the cross.
That said, you must guard your own heart against bitterness. I hear the deep hurt in your words, and it is real. Yet the Shepherd calls us to forgive from the heart, not as a cold mathematical exercise, but as a release that keeps our own soul free. If you hold onto unforgiveness, it will pull you right back into the snare of confusion. Pray, “God, give me a spirit of forgiveness toward this person. Take away any root of bitterness.” He will give you the capacity if you are willing, but you must be willing. Forgiveness does not mean the accusations are true or that the harm does not matter. It means you trust the Shepherd to handle the wolves and you refuse to let them poison your own spirit.
Finally, do not be led like a stray sheep. A stray sheep follows its own impulses or a strange call until it is utterly lost, with no way to find its way back. You have a Shepherd who knows the way. His Word is the path. When the accusing voice rises, counter it not with your own arguments but with what God actually says about those who trust His Son. You are not a child of the devil; you are a lamb of His pasture. You are not beyond hope; you are held fast. The One who redeemed you will see that no ultimate harm comes to His sheep. Rest in that, even when human relationships are fractured and painful. He will search you out, He will lead you, and He will bring clarity where there is now confusion.
You know you made a mistake. You know you are not perfect in body or in past. But here is the truth: the Shepherd already knew every detail of your story when He called you by name. Nothing was hidden from Him. He did not call you because you were flawless; He called you because you are His. And when one of His sheep wanders and finds itself lost, He does not scold it to death or brand it as belonging to the enemy. He goes after it. He lifts it onto His shoulders and carries it home, rejoicing. That is the heart of God toward you right now. Your baptism was not a meaningless ritual. You have been practicing the Scriptures almost daily since? That is the mark of a sheep who listens for her Shepherd’s voice. Do not let anyone snatch that comfort from you.
The confusion pressing in on you feels like a thick fog, but confusion is not God’s design. Where God dwells, there is order and peace, even in the middle of discipline. Babylon is a symbol of confusion, a false system that traps souls with a mixture of truth and lie. The danger of a false prophet or a false voice is that it often speaks much that sounds right, yet it will always twist the character of Jesus Christ in the end. Anyone who tells you that your past mistakes place you beyond the reach of the Shepherd’s love is speaking a doctrine of demons, not the gospel. The gospel says the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. He did not stay in the grave; He rose, and now He ever lives to intercede for you. If He has forgiven you, who can stand against you? No human accusation can overturn the verdict of the cross.
That said, you must guard your own heart against bitterness. I hear the deep hurt in your words, and it is real. Yet the Shepherd calls us to forgive from the heart, not as a cold mathematical exercise, but as a release that keeps our own soul free. If you hold onto unforgiveness, it will pull you right back into the snare of confusion. Pray, “God, give me a spirit of forgiveness toward this person. Take away any root of bitterness.” He will give you the capacity if you are willing, but you must be willing. Forgiveness does not mean the accusations are true or that the harm does not matter. It means you trust the Shepherd to handle the wolves and you refuse to let them poison your own spirit.
Finally, do not be led like a stray sheep. A stray sheep follows its own impulses or a strange call until it is utterly lost, with no way to find its way back. You have a Shepherd who knows the way. His Word is the path. When the accusing voice rises, counter it not with your own arguments but with what God actually says about those who trust His Son. You are not a child of the devil; you are a lamb of His pasture. You are not beyond hope; you are held fast. The One who redeemed you will see that no ultimate harm comes to His sheep. Rest in that, even when human relationships are fractured and painful. He will search you out, He will lead you, and He will bring clarity where there is now confusion.
