Green Pasture Reflections
Green Pasture Reflections
During my quiet time this morning I am again drawn to Psalm 23. The verses came into an interesting focus. In getting into just the first and second verses so much is there for me that it was one of those “aha” moments.
Let me start from the top: David, the author, says this:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.”
Psalm 23: 1-6 English Standard Version (ESV)
The declaration that the Lord is my Shepherd; this means He is the one I follow. Not just some of the time, when I have time, not following something or someone else, but all the time: follow the Lord all the time. And if I do follow Him, because He is my Shepherd, I will not want because it is His voice and His will I am learning to understand and trust.
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. Other translations say I shall lack nothing; I will never be in need. This is a crucial component of the whole Psalm. Regardless of where He leads or the circumstance the enemy of our souls throws at us, we will be well equipped.
We are living in a world at war. We were born into it. But the war is not of flesh and blood but of powers and principalities in spiritually high places. We need to understand that backdrop. Unless we are willing to “lie down in the green pasture” and learn of Jesus the "Good Shepherd" and His plans, we will be torn between good and evil. We will not have the necessary tools to stand firmly in either.
Jesus gave us the freedom to choose with His death and resurrection. His resurrection didn’t force us to accept His love and reject evil. His resurrection gave us the freedom to choose good or evil.
He makes me lie down in "green pastures." I am not good at lying down in "green pastures." He makes me often because I don’t choose to on my own. Life gets in the way, Busyness gets in the way, daydreaming gets in the way; my mind wandering hither and yon.
There are pitfalls and slippery slopes on this journey. When we “lie down in green pastures”, with the Lord, He shows us the places that draw us away from the Shepherd. He shows us ways to avoid the things that can ultimately be the slippery slope that lands in a place far from our Shepherd and the safety of His gaze. Like new shiny things, comparison traps, keeping up with whoever seems to have what we would like, anything that poses a threat to our relationship with Him or our knowing who we were created to be.
The Lord wants us to understand the battle, how it is waged and the weapons of warfare on both sides – good and evil. We only know these things as we get to know Him. Not hearsay but by meeting Him ourselves “face-to-face.” Hearing as we listen to His still small voice. He is our Shepherd and He knows us well. We need to know His voice when He calls our name.
I used to horseback ride. In the ring, the instructor said “Your horse will follow your eyes – where ever you look that’s where your horse will go.” Look into the corners of the arena and your horse will go there. If your eyes cut corners, your horse will also. The same is true for our hearts. If our eyes are on the “Good Shepherd” our actions will follow where He leads.
Lying down is hard for me. When we are lying down in the pasture, that the Lord brings us to, we are not idle but feeding on His Word, resting in His field, under His protective eye. Here, the Lord will keep the enemy away from our hearts and will guard our minds.
David goes on to say: “He leads me beside still waters.” I love the water. Listening to the sounds of the waves and the peace it brings. And from time to time I love sitting near the quiet water’s edge. Interesting, the Shepherd does not refer to the waters as the rapids of a river or crashing waves of the Ocean but "quiet waters." There you can drink, rest, and refresh. Jesus says He gives us living water where we will thirst no more.
And through our listening and remembering there are seasons that He makes us lie down in green pastures and He restores our soul.
As long as we are alive, we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
We are not guaranteed tomorrow, a month from now, or a hundred years. It is a condition of the fall of man that his physical body would die. Part of living is we understand that these physical bodies start to decay the day we are born.
David tells us in Psalm 90 to ask God to teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. So “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, — I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.”
We have been equipped in the green pasture getting to “know” God with intimate detail. His rod and staff comfort us with His presence. We are not alone. We have a choice who we listen to God or the world with all its’ distractions and often destruction.
The first several verses of Psalm 23 is of our relationship with our Shepherd intentionally placing ourselves in His care and following Him.
How we live because of our relationship with Him, as a result of being deliberate in following Him, learning to hear the Shepherds voice, brings us to the second half of the verses. David tells us that the Shepherd prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. He goes on to say “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” including dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
John 10:14-15 New International Version (NIV)
Are you today willing to purposefully follow the “Great Shepherd” as He leads you on your journey?
