By Tammy Phillips
May 14, 2020
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. – Psalm 23:2
I would love to know exactly where David was when he wrote this Psalm. I do not envision green nor water. I imagine he was sitting in a rocky, dry, dusty place, like most of the Middle East. I do not think green pastures were as easy to find as they are here in the good ‘ole USA. A shepherd would probably have to work pretty hard to find or cultivate a green pasture for the sheep.
Are you sitting in a dry place? What does your green pasture look like? What makes you lie down? Is it sitting in a beach chair resting at the edge of the ocean waves? Is it a cool, crisp morning on your favorite golf course? Is it a world where all your debts are paid, and ailments are healed? Is it the eternal hope of heaven? Allow the Lord to take you into His rest. He will provide your green pasture. It is already prepared for you.
In Phillips Keller’s, “A Shephard Looks at Psalm 23,” he states it is almost impossible to make a sheep lie down unless these four conditions are met:
Sheep must be free from all fear.
Sheep must be free from friction with other sheep in the flock.
Sheep must be free from torment from flies and pests.
Sheep must be free from hunger.
Sound familiar? If we step out of faith and into fear, rest and sleep are fleeting. If the house is full of tension and strife, we become agitated and are not interested in resting. If something is “bugging us,” the cares of life, sickness, lack or just the lies of the enemy, rest escapes us.
Thirsty? The best thing to do is follow the shepherd’s lead to the still waters. The Hebrew word for still in this verse is menuwchah which means rest, resting place, quietness, comfort, and ease. Whenever I am ill at ease, my favorite place to go find peace is by the water, whether, it be a lake, a river, or my favorite, the ocean. The water is restorative. The Living Water, the Lord, is the most restorative. He is our Peace.
I enCOURAGE you to follow the Shepherd into His rest and peace. Be content in Him. A good Shepherd provides for every need of His sheep. You are marked as saved by the Savior. He makes the way to the green pastures and to the still waters of rest. Not only does He provide the rest and peace, He is the Rest.
Complete in Him 