If you’ve been around the church for any length of time, you’ve probably heard that Psalm 23 is pretty well-known and frequently referenced. Well, here I am referencing it for your reading pleasure. If you want a little more insight into the chapter (it’s a short chapter – only 6 verses), take a look at my post Then I Found Grace. I was reading the chapter earlier in the week and it came up again in my Bible study. Okay, God, I hear ya…
I have enough going on in my life that I seem to have the capacity for only a couple faith-nuggets rolling around in my head and heart at the same time. Some of them I’ll share here, and others need more time to ruminate. This thought has grown from one small speck to something I think is worth sharing. Or, rather, I think God is nudging me to share. The original thought has grown into something… different. I thought today’s post was going in one direction, yet it went in another altogether.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, 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 runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23 NKJV
One portion that I’ve been chewing on is the first part of verse 2 – He makes me to lie down in green pastures. The only time you’ll find that a sheep is lying down in a lush, green pasture is when it is not hungry and when there is nothing to fear. But this portion of verse 2 says so much more than what we see on the surface. This portion as led me to some introspection that might speak to you, too.
There are a lot of people who think this passage from the book of Psalms is a picture of luxury. As if we’re being told we don’t have to work, we don’t have to pay attention to anything other than peaceful slumber. We just go with the flow and follow the Leader. While we’re not going to experience the lap of luxury this side of Heaven because we live in a fallen world, the rest of that is pretty darn true. It just looks different than we immediately think.
We’re told that we need to work, but what is our work? We’re working to enter God’s rest (Hebrews 4:11). We’re told to walk by the spirit and not the flesh (Galatians 5:25) – for those who are insistent on being in control, you won’t last long in the pasture if you’re doing your own thing.
There are a lot of Christians who are always busy doing what they call God’s Work. They are feeding the hungry, helping the poor, building houses, digging wells – all good things – but it’s not good if they’re doing God’s work while being spiritually depleted. No one can pour anything from an empty cup. I quoted Brandon Lake before with this – we are not called to ministry; we’re called to intimacy, and from that intimacy, ministry will flow. To quote my husband, it’s when we rest that God is free to work on our behalf.
This means that even if we have a bad medical report, we’re able to rest (Mark 9:20-27). Even if we’re experiencing financial hardship, we can rest (Mark 12:41-44). When we are in the midst of a raging storm, we can sleep in the boat (Mark 4:35-41). This is life when we’re led by the Spirit. This is proclaiming that we can’t, but God can. This is lying down in green pastures.
And a flock, herd, pride, pod, or mob makes this all so much easier.
Ever notice that women seem to enjoy going places together? We converse together in groups, we stand in coffee lines together (even if we’re already caffeinated), and almost everyone has noticed that we travel to the bathroom together. We interact with each other regardless of where we are. We might be in the most uncomfortable environments, yet we find the need to talk and be social. Y’all, I’ve prayed over, and have been prayed over, while waiting in line in the church bathroom. We are stronger when we stand together. The same goes for any flock, herd, pride, pod, or mob.
A few years ago, some family had some hard they came up against, and we took in two bonus kiddos for a time. I went into the mode of trying to make sure everyone had everything they needed – even though I couldn’t fully provide it on my own, I went spent trying to make everything easier for them. We were eight people living in a 1300 square foot home. We became the proud owners of another set of bunk beds, two more dressers, and a lot more food. As far as basic necessities went, we had it handled. But we had some predators entering the pasture.
I found myself in tears most nights, feeling supremely overwhelmed. I was finding myself feeling empty, like I had nothing else to give. There were a few weeks that I couldn’t find it in me to write my weekly post. It was about that time that our church started Summer Jam (kind of like Vacation Bible School), and my kiddos were so excited to go. As I dropped them off and picked them up each evening, I kept telling myself to just go in and find someone to pray with me. Just go in and ask… just ask for prayer… be bold and humble and ask for some stinkin’ prayer!
Sadly, I chose poorly and never went in. We had only been going to the church for a couple months and only every other weekend, so we hadn’t made any connections yet. I knew the names of a couple people, but only from afar. It was this experience that shown the spotlight on my need for a flock, a herd, a pride, a pod, a mob… or a group of ladies that would gather in the church bathroom to pray over each other.
I signed my husband and myself up for a Bible study, I prioritized attending the weekly women’s Bible study, and I purposed to sit in the same place each week and kept my phone in my purse (we use our phones to look busy and needed, but it really just makes us look unapproachable). I was choosing to make a change so that I could get my cup refilled – and have something to pour into others.
As this ruminated, I recognized that we have this security of Psalm 23 only when we choose to rest in Jesus. We can only experience lying down in green pastures if we have placed our complete and total trust in our Shepherd. Each day we have to recognize Him as our Lord and Savior, submit to His authority, and trust that He will lead, guide, and work on our behalf.
Perhaps you’re there. Maybe you’ve placed your trust in Him and have submitted to His leading, but you feel as though you’re good to linger a little away from herd. I don’t know your story, I don’t know where you might be struggling, but all of us need someone at some point.
Our family often uses the quotes teamwork makes the dream work and many hands make light work. Both of those are true for working to enter into His rest. We’re meant to do life together – building each other up, sharing testimonies that in turn will strengthen the faith of someone else, and pray over each other… even if it’s in the bathroom. We’re not meant to go through this life alone. But for each relationship, we have to choose.
We have to choose to step out of what we’ve grown accustomed to in order to make new friends. We have to choose to go to the Bible study or the church service even if we’re tired or just want to hang out at home.
It’s so much easier to enter into His rest, the lying down in green pastures kind of rest, when the flock, herd, pride, pod, or mob is working with you to get there.