Hello everyone and again... Happy New Year! This is week 2 of meditating on Psalm 23 as we wrap ourselves in the Lord’s care. I hope you have had a chance to speak these words of life and peace to yourself this week. I’m continuing to let this psalm wash over me morning and night, as I wake and as I go to sleep. It’s like a balm for my soul. This psalm brings our thinking and by extension or emotions into the place that God has prepared for us…His presence.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23 (NASB)
Today, we are pondering verse 2, “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” Verse 2 is another way of saying verse 1. It tells us in word pictures what our Shepherd is like, what he does for us, and how we can respond. We have a Shepherd in whom we lack nothing.
The psalmist invites us to compare ourselves to sheep whose shepherd has brought us into a place of abundance, a place of blessing, a place without lack. For the sheep, it is a pasture of tender grass. They experience the contentment of being fully fed. For us, it is the assurance that our Shepherd is present and caring for us. He leads us right where we need to be. We are fed. We are full. We are content.
Breath in deep and exhale letting go of your cares, if even for just a moment. The Shepherd has brought you into a peaceful pasture of tender grass where you can feed on his goodness and his constant care for you. Let him watch out for the wolves. Let him concern himself with your needs today. He is the good Shepherd; he will do it. Thank you, Jesus, that you make me to lie down in green pastures.
This same idea is repeated and emphasized for us in the second line of verse 2, “He leads me beside quiet waters.” My Bible says these are literally waters of rest. Contrary to thoughts of being alone and fending for ourselves in a hostile world, the Lord calls us to find rest. Water is cleansing. Water is life giving. Water is satisfying. The Lord offers it to us freely. Imagine yourself drinking fully of his cleansing, life giving flow. Be satisfied in him. We are full. We are content.
Blessings!
Nancy
Study the book of Revelation: Come Lord Jesus: A Woman's Walk—Spirit, Body & Soul—Through the Book of Revelation.
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