As a shepherd, David understood the meaning of broken bones. You see, when a lamb would stubbornly and rebelliously continue to wander away from the flock, the shepherd would break its legs and place the lamb on his shoulder where it would remain until its bones were healed. When the lamb could walk again, so bonded was he with the shepherd, he would never stray again.

Like sheep, we all go astray (Isaiah 53:6). Therefore, in His love, the Good Shepherd breaks a bone or two and carries me while I whine and cry and wonder what He’s doing. But as the days and weeks and months go by, I find myself closer to Him than I had ever been previously, and all I can say is, ‘Thank You, Lord.’

Part of shepherding means breaking a bone or two. Thus, Titus would have to speak words that could cause tears to flow or bones to snap. But he could do so with authority, knowing it was an opportunity for the wounded sheep to one day walk with its Shepherd more intimately.