The second section
of our "If You Have a Craving..." chapter for this week shares a
verse from Psalms 23. As Laurie
commented at our last meeting, you most often hear this Psalms read at funeral
s. However, there is so much more to it
than a comfort for those grieving a loss of a loved one. This chapter gives us the picture of our Lord
as a Shepard and we are His sheep. Sheri
writes, "When we feel like your soul is dying of thirst and you have
nothing left to give, stop everything and be still." Psalms 23:2 says, "He makes me lie down
in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters." Ahhh, that sounds so peaceful, doesn’t
it?
You know how I
always notice the action words in verses that instruct us on how to live and
walk in our Lord? Well, this scripture
also has action words but they are not what we need to do, but they are what
our Lord has done and will do for us.
Because I wanted to
know how the Lord "makes me lie down", I went to one of my favorite
books, A
Shepard Looks at Psalms 23 by Phillip Keller. Before I had the pleasure of reading this, I
did not know the duties of a shepherd caring for his flock of sheep. What a
beautiful picture of our Lord and how He cares for us.
Let me share with
you from Chapter 3 of this amazing little book about sheep. In order to lie down there are four
requirements that need to be met.
Because of their timidity, they
refuse to lie down unless they are free from fear.
Because of their
social behavior, they will not lie down unless they are free from friction with
others of their kind.
If they are
tormented by flies or parasites, they will not lie down.
If they are hungry,
they will not lie down.
It is the shepherds
responsibility to take care of these four things, in order to "make"
them lie down and rest. Also, In order
for them to rest, the shepherd needs to be nearby because when he is near, the
sheep know they are safe and cared for.
Wow! Did you know all of this needed to take place
before sheep would rest? Keller brings this to a Christian's life in these
words. "..There is no substitute for the keen awareness that my Shepherd
is nearby. There is nothing like
Christ's presence to dispel the fear, the panic, the terror of the
unknown."
Our God, because of
who He is and His eternal love and care for us, makes it possible for us to lie
down and rest. Do we trust Him to have met these four "requirements"
so that we can rest and be refreshed? He
desires for us to bring our fears to Him.
He instructs us in His Word how to act and respond to others. He assures us that we can denounce the
tormentors attacks in the name of Jesus.
He fills our empty souls with His Living Word and feeds our bodies with the bounty of
healthy, nourishing foods He has provided. God does all of this for us so that we can
lie down in green pastures.
There are many more pages in this wonderful
little book that go on to describe how "green pastures" come about
with the extensive work and care of the shepherd. But for now, let's just rest our minds and
souls on all that our Lord has done for us so that it is truly possible to be
"made to lie down". To rest and be refreshed. Right now, in this moment, knowing that He is
our Shepherd and we shall not want.
Blessings at the
close of this Lord's Day, my sweet Faithful Weigh Friends,
Mary Ann
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