Good Shepherds prepare their people for suffering and endurance in a way that the truth and hope planted in them will spring up under the rushing waters of persecution. This is the basis of Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17 (see also Ps 112). If we sow according to the Spirit, we will most certainly reap a harvest of power, boldness, hope, and steadfast love. However, if what is sown (by Hireling-Shepherds) is according to the flesh, we will most certainly reap fear, anxiety, discouragement, cowardice, and hopelessness.
