梦游圣经66本书

2026年9月7日｜灵修经文：约翰福音 10:27–28

「我的羊听我的声音，我也认识他们，他们也跟着我。我又赐给他们永生；他们永不灭亡，谁也不能从我手里把他们夺去。」
——约翰福音 10:27–28

今天，我在 Johor Bahru 的 St. Giles Southkey，特别留意到酒店的名字：

St Giles。

原本只是一个酒店的名字，
但当我去了解它背后的历史，
却发现几个很特别的连接。

St. Giles Southkey 早在 2019年已经进入建设阶段。

那一年，Mid Valley Southkey 商场开幕，
酒店也正在预备成为整个发展的一部分。

然而，谁也没有预料到，
接下来世界进入疫情。

工程受到影响，
原本预备打开的门被延迟了。

一个正在成形的地方，
经历了一段等待。

直到 2022年8月31日，
St. Giles Southkey 终于正式开业。

很特别的是——

8月31日，正是马来西亚独立日。

Merdeka。

自由。

一间经历过延迟的酒店，
最后选择在象征「自由」的日子打开大门。

而它的名字，又叫：

St Giles。

当我进一步了解这个名字，
才发现 Saint Giles 是早期基督教传统中的圣徒，后来特别与关怀贫穷、患病、软弱和需要帮助的人联系在一起。

St Giles——关怀软弱的人。

Merdeka——自由。

而今天所读的约翰福音第十章，
耶稣正好用了一幅非常温柔的图画，
把这两件事连在一起：

好牧人与羊。

耶稣说：

「我的羊听我的声音，我也认识他们。」

羊是需要牧人的。

它会迷路，
会受伤，
也没有足够的能力保护自己。

但耶稣没有嫌弃羊的软弱。

祂说：

「我认识他们。」

这正是好牧人的心。

祂认识我们的软弱，
知道我们走过的路，
也知道生命中那些被延迟、被打断，
甚至我们自己也不明白的季节。

然后耶稣说了一句更深的话：

「谁也不能从我手里把他们夺去。」

读到这里，
我发现「自由」有了另一层意义。

我们通常以为：

自由，就是没有限制；
自由，就是门终于打开；
自由，就是我终于可以照自己的意思往前走。

但在耶稣里面，
真正的自由竟然不是离开牧人的手，

而是在牧人的手中，不再害怕。

羊若离开牧人，
看起来是自由了，

其实却失去了保护。

羊真正能够安然行走，
不是因为它不再需要牧人，

而是因为它知道：

牧人在这里。

这也让我重新看见 St. Giles Southkey 的故事。

2019——开始。
后来——延迟。
2022年8月31日——门终于打开。

有时候，我们的生命也是如此。

神允许一些事情开始，
却不一定马上完成。

我们以为延迟就是失去，
关上的门就是神没有工作。

但好牧人看见的是整条路。

我们只看见停顿，
祂却知道终点。

所以真正使我们自由的，
不是所有事情终于按照我们的时间发生，

而是在等待中仍然知道：

祂认识我。

在未知中仍然相信：

祂没有放开我。

而一个真正经历过好牧人保护的人，
也会渐渐拥有牧人的心。

我们开始看见软弱的人，
扶持受伤的人，
陪伴正在等待的人。

因为我们知道，
自己也曾经软弱，
也曾经需要有人扶持。

**先被祂寻找，
才懂得寻找；

先被祂扶持，
才懂得扶持；

先在祂手中得着安全，
才懂得成为别人的保护。**

今天，当我再次看见：

St Giles

我想到的不再只是一个酒店品牌。

我想到 软弱中的看顾；

想到 Merdeka——自由；

也想到耶稣的手。

原来这三幅图画，
最后都把我的目光带向同一个地方：

好牧人。

祂认识羊，
祂看顾羊，
祂也紧紧握住属于祂的羊。

所以真正的自由，
不是我终于能够掌控一切，

而是即使仍有不能掌控的事情，
我的心仍然可以安息。

因为我知道——

我是祂所认识的，
我是祂所爱的，
也是祂手中所保守的。

这也许就是今天 St Giles 这个名字给我的提醒：

最深的自由，
不是离开牧人的手，
而是在祂手中，终于不再害怕。

「谁也不能从我手里把他们夺去。」

——约翰福音 10:28

St Giles: True Freedom Is Found in His Hands

7 September 2026 | Devotional Scripture: John 10:27–28

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
—John 10:27–28

Today, while I was at St. Giles Southkey in Johor Bahru, one name especially caught my attention:

St Giles.

At first, it was simply the name of a hotel.

But as I began to look into its history, I discovered several meaningful connections.

St. Giles Southkey had already entered its development and construction phase by 2019.

That same year, The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey opened, while the hotel was being prepared as part of the larger integrated development.

Then something no one had anticipated happened:

the world entered the COVID-19 pandemic.

Construction was affected,
and the opening that had been anticipated was delayed.

A place that was taking shape
entered a season of waiting.

Finally, on 31 August 2022,
St. Giles Southkey officially opened its doors.

What caught my attention was the date:

31 August is Malaysia’s Independence Day.

Merdeka.

Freedom.

A hotel that had gone through a season of delay
finally opened its doors on a day that celebrates freedom.

And its name was:

St Giles.

As I looked further into the name, I discovered that Saint Giles was an early Christian saint who, through Christian tradition, became particularly associated with compassion for the poor, the sick, the weak, and those in need.

St Giles — care for the vulnerable.

Merdeka — freedom.

And in today’s passage from John 10,
Jesus gives us a beautiful picture that brings these themes together:

the Good Shepherd and His sheep.

Jesus said:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them.”

Sheep need a shepherd.

They can wander.
They can be wounded.
And they do not have sufficient strength to protect themselves.

Yet Jesus does not reject the sheep because of their weakness.

He says:

“I know them.”

This is the heart of the Good Shepherd.

He knows our weaknesses.
He knows the road we have travelled.
He even knows those seasons in our lives that have been delayed, interrupted, or left beyond our understanding.

Then Jesus says something even deeper:

“No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Suddenly, the word freedom takes on another meaning.

We often think freedom means having no restrictions.

Freedom means the door has finally opened.

Freedom means I can finally move forward according to my own plans.

But in Jesus, true freedom is not about leaving the Shepherd’s hand.

It is being in the Shepherd’s hand and no longer living in fear.

If a sheep leaves its shepherd,
it may appear to be free,

but it has actually left its place of protection.

A sheep can walk securely not because it no longer needs a shepherd,

but because it knows:

the Shepherd is here.

This also caused me to see the story of St. Giles Southkey differently.

2019 — the beginning.
Then — delay.
31 August 2022 — the doors finally opened.

Sometimes our lives are like this too.

God allows something to begin,
but it does not always come to completion immediately.

We may think that delay means loss,
or that a closed door means God is no longer working.

But the Good Shepherd sees the whole journey.

We see the pause;
He knows the destination.

So what truly sets us free is not that everything finally happens according to our timetable.

It is knowing, even while we wait:

He knows me.

And believing, even in uncertainty:

He has not let go of me.

And when we have truly experienced the protection of the Good Shepherd,
we gradually begin to carry the Shepherd’s heart ourselves.

We begin to notice the weak,
support the wounded,
and walk alongside those who are waiting.

Because we remember that we too have been weak,
and we too have needed someone to uphold us.

**We are first sought by Him,
then we learn to seek others.

We are first upheld by Him,
then we learn to uphold others.

We first find security in His hands,
then we learn to become a place of safety for others.**

Today, when I look again at the words:

St Giles

I no longer see merely the name of a hotel brand.

I think of care in the midst of weakness.

I think of Merdeka — freedom.

And I think of the hands of Jesus.

These three pictures ultimately turn my eyes toward the same Person:

the Good Shepherd.

He knows His sheep.
He cares for His sheep.
And He holds securely those who belong to Him.

True freedom, therefore,
is not finally gaining control over everything.

It is being able to rest even when there are still things beyond my control.

Because I know:

I am known by Him.
I am loved by Him.
And I am kept in His hands.

Perhaps this is what the name St Giles reminds me of today:

The deepest freedom
is not leaving the Shepherd’s hand,
but being in His hand
and finally no longer being afraid.

“No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

—John 10:28