He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. Pdalm 23:2
Yesterday we were reminded that we live in a world where thoughts of stress, anxiety, worry and fear are readily available at any time. And those thoughts steal our peace, joy and rest. Just like Job said, he wasn’t at ease, rest or quiet thinking about what might happen and trouble happened anyway. And although we know that Jesus is our peace, too often our peace is fleeting and rest for our hearts, minds and bodies are hard to find. That said, did you know that sheep that are stressed cannot lay down and rest? Perhaps that’s why so often we are called sheep and God is our Shepherd in the Scriptures.
In one of the most familiar passages in the Bible, we are reminded that our Shepherd actually can make us lie down and rest. But how does He do that? It happens through us to staying close to our Shepherd, by walking and staying in a close relationship with Him. Experiencing His faithful care, love, protection and provision helps us to trust Him, relax and rest, because we know He is always with us. The way to counter the things that are trying to steal our peace and generate fear is to stay close to the Shepherd and learn of His ways, know His faithfulness, power, mercy and grace. Knowing our Shepherd is always with us no matter what the situation or circumstance provides us with whatever we need. And as we rest we also will experience the restoration of soul that only He can give.
Leave a Reply