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Green Pastures

Green Pastures, Quiet Waters

by TerryLema

I woke up yesterday morning with the first verse of Psalm 23 running through my mind. “The LORD is my shepherd,” David wrote. And because the LORD, YAHWEH, JEHOVAH is David’s Shepherd, he was able to testify, “there is nothing I lack.”

I thought since God brought it up, there is perhaps a lesson (or two) I need to learn in Psalm 23. So I looked at the next sentence. “He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” [HCSB]

(Just for the record, if the wording appears differently than what you are used to in this Psalm, it is because I love looking at Scripture through the eyes of different translations.)

The LORD lets me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. I am working on managing the auto-immune diseases in my life as well as the stress that often accompanies them. Boy did this verse speak to me today!

The world and the enemy of our soul want to keep us on the run. On a daily basis we see our time whisked away by needs and obligations. We are bombarded on every side with the noise of temptations and discouraging words. Pressures and trials, disappointments and difficulties, are loud and demanding. They are professionals at producing anxiety and stress.

The LORD, however, speaks to us gently. He invites us to his green pastures. There the water of His life flows gently and quietly. He lets us rest. He gives us peace. There in the quiet of His presence, we find everything we need to wipe away the noise of the world. Oh, I ask myself this morning, why don’t I go there more often!

Lead me today, gentle Shepherd, to your green pastures, to your quiet waters. Amen.

 

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Our Good Shepherd …

by TerryLema

I am seeking the care of my Shepherd today, looking for those green pastures and quiet waters He promises the weary and worn. What better place to find Him than in John 10, the chapter about our “Good Shepherd?”

Jesus says three things in that chapter that make my heart rejoice, but first he reminds us that He alone is the doorway to the sheepfold. There is no confusion, no uncertainty, no debate. We enter through Him, He is “the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him.” [John 10:7, 14:6]

But then Jesus goes on and tells his disciples what we will have when we enter His sheepfold. First, we have life, but not just any life – abundant life. When we enter that sheepfold, we give up death. It must relinquish its hold upon us because Jesus has made us alive in Him. [v10]

Not only do we have life, abundant life, but we have the assurance and the security that our “Good Shepherd” lays down His life for His sheep. No foe can harm us. We may face opposition in this life, we may even be taken from this life by the wickedness and evil around us, but we go straight to the loving arms of our Father God because God’s Son, Christ Jesus our LORD, gave His life on that cross for us. [v11]

The third thing Jesus reminds His disciples is that He knows His own sheep (and they know His voice). He knows us! He does not just know about us, or lump us all together in a group, or see us all the same. He knows us individually, our deepest needs, regrets, desires and wants. He knows our voice when we call out to Him and responds to us so that we grow to recognize His voice. [v14]

Ah, beloved, what a wonderful green pasture by a quiet stream to rest in today. Think about the Shepherd who opened the door, laid His life down for us, protects us, and speaks words of love, grace, and mercy to us.

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Gentle Shepherd …

by TerryLema

After reading 1 Samuel 16 yesterday and the choosing of David as Israel’s king, I started thinking about shepherds. The LORD often referred to Himself as shepherding His people Israel. David in his beautiful Psalm 23 gives us a glimpse of that.

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.”  [v 1-3 HCSB]

Right about now, in the second half of 2020, entering the sixth month of the world-wide virus-and-fear pandemic, I am longing for some green pastures and quiet waters. I need personal renewal. I need to know that I am on the “right path for His name’s sake” as a Christian and as a pastor.

The overabundance of problems and threats to our personal lives, personal freedoms, religious freedoms, alongside the social restrictions, and financial burdens wear down. We are assaulted on every side, told what we can or cannot do, whether we can meet, sing, work, or play. What resources we may have built up have probably long since dissipated. We are left weary, confused, and divided.

But the LORD is our Shepherd and our Shepherd knows when the sheep are weary, and He takes them to green pastures beside quiet streams to rest and renew. For us, beloved, as Christians that means we turn once again to the Scriptures to seek the promises of God. We allow God’s Spirit to lead us in prayer and meditation. We make room in our lives for some quiet time to just listen to the Voice of the LORD. We praise and worship with music, singing our thanksgiving to Him.

I need that. So, of course, I am going to take you along with me over the next couple weeks. Together, in God’s Word, in praise and worship with music, I invite you to those green pastures and quiet streams our Shepherd provides.

 

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