This week I’ve attended a fantastic conference at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, the pivotal engagement of the American Civil War. Thousands of men fought and died here, and we’ve learned the stories of several of them.

Many of these men wrote letters home, or recorded their experiences following the battle, and spoke of their hope in the Lord. Not everyone was religious, but walking toward a massive battle turned even hardened minds beyond this life.

Passages like this one from Peter proved especially meaningful: For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Those marching towards fields of death turned to the Good Shepherd. Because where else was there to turn?

Like brave men North and South, we too may enjoy a relationship with the Shepherd and Overseer. Hopefully we’ll never face a withering field of fire, but we do face challenging situations and persistent difficulties no less potent.

As I walked the battlefield this week I realized, with pleasure and hope, that I take comfort in the same God our forefathers turned to in their hours of distress—the Shepherd and Overseer of my soul.

1 Peter 2:25 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022