Beside Still Waters

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

Is there anything as refreshing as a cool drink of water? Throughout the day, we consume a lot of different fluids. For some people, it's coffee or tea, juices or lemonade, adult beverages or soda. Yet, with all the choices the world offers, ultimately our bodies need -- our bodies crave -- simple, God-given water.

When you're going for a walk, or mowing the lawn, exercising in some way or simply exerting yourself more than usual, often the very first thing you want (after a breather) is pure, refreshing water.

Indeed, we love water so much, we find its very presence peaceful and calming. It's as though our spiritual selves long to be near it just as much as our physical bodies require it for survival. We build our homes next to it. We plan activities around it. We'll sit and stare at it for hours.

Maybe this need -- this physical, emotional, spiritual need -- is why Jesus talked about the Water of Life.

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus knows our desires... but more than that, He knows our needs. It's our nature to drink. It's God's nature to lead us to the still, peaceful water of Life.

He Makes; He Leads

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

Sometimes, kids need a nap. 

As a parent, my job is to lead my children. Sometimes, I can lead them by example, or through suggestion. And sometimes, because I'm the adult and know what's best for them, I have to express my will more insistently. I have to tell them what to do, and expect them to obey it. Naps are like that. Very rarely will one of my 5-year-old daughters tell me they want to take a nap. Even when I can judge by their behavior that a nap is exactly what they need, their own will is to keep going, to stay awake. So I must make them lie down. I'm not taking away their autonomy; I'm helping them grow, because I'm giving them exactly what they need -- even when they don't know it. 

Sometimes, God works this way as well. Once we put ourselves in His hands, His expectation is that we will be submissive to His will. We are the sheep; He is the shepherd. 

What this means is that sometimes He will lead us beside still waters. He will guide us to refreshing water, and we will drink, because it is in our nature to do so. But it is also in our nature to keep going, long after our ability to walk straight, to think clearly, to follow well. We're not people who trust easily; who put ourselves fully under the authority of another. We're not people who willingly rest under the protection of another -- even when rest is exactly what we need. So, like a loving Father, He makes us lie down.

Many people have experienced this. Certain doors close; options are removed until all that is left is to shut down and to rest in His arms. 

Maybe this is what Jesus meant when He said,

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)

He Makes Me To Lie Down in Green Pastures

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

There is something peaceful about green pastures and still waters. The whole scene, set in just those two sentences, whispers, "rest," for those weary enough to need it. Later in the psalm, we'll learn about a valley of a shadow of death, and about enemies being present... so this respite, this calm interlude, is made that much more important.

Indeed, in the busyness of our lives, in the day-to-day drama of living out our lives for Christ, in a world that increasingly values Self above all else, I find that I seek rest more and more. In the constant noise of our bustling age of electronic everything, how sweet it is to find that quiet place and relax in the presence of the Shepherd!

Jesus again echoes the Psalm when He says,

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

Yet, there's even more blessing in these pastures than simple rest. A shepherd himself, David knows that green pastures aren't merely bedding for tired sheep; they are also nourishment. A part of the rest offered here is the knowledge that their needs are being met. That they can rise at any time and partake in the abundant grass around them. 

This is what it means to rest in the abundant life of Christ: to lie down in green pastures, knowing the Shepherd is keeping watch, that He has met our needs, that He has it under control.