Words of Grace | Psalm 23 | Green Pastures & Still Waters

Psalm 23 - “Green Pastures & Still Waters”

It afflicts 70 million Americans. It is responsible for 1 million motor vehicle crashes, and 8,000 deaths each year in the U.S. Teenagers suffer from it. Senior citizens are afflicted by it. Researchers say the most severe cases occur between the ages of thirty and forty. What is it? Alcohol abuse? Binge watching? The answer may surprise you: Insomnia.

One of five Americans can’t get to sleep at night. And I’m sure there’s many more who can’t stay asleep. We have too much to do, and too little sleep to go on. And so many of us face each day tired and exhausted. Our minds are tired. Our bodies are tired. But more importantly, our souls are tired.

There’s only one other living creature that has as much trouble resting as we do. You guessed it – sheep! Bears hibernate, cats nap, and dogs doze. Most animals know how to rest. Sheep, on the other hand, need everything to be just right. No threat of predators, no flies bugging them, no tension in the flock, and no hunger in the belly. Everything has to be just right!

Yet they don’t know where to find food or deal with friction. They can’t find safe passage on their own, and they can’t spray insecticide to keep the flies away. They need a shepherd to lead them and help them lie down in green pastures. Without a shepherd they can’t rest.

Sounds a bit like us, doesn’t it? Life can get so busy that we forget to pause. The noise around us gets so loud we forget to shut it down. Our phones send us pings and dings, alerts and notifications almost non-stop. Maybe that’s why God made such a big deal about rest in the Ten Commandments.

Do you know which of the Ten Commandments occupies the most space? Murder? Adultery? Stealing? You would think so. Curiously enough, those prohibitions take up very few words. But when it comes to the topic of rest, God has a lot to say about our need for it (read Ex. 20:8-11).

See, for a field to bear fruit, it must occasionally lie fallow. For a car to run smoothly, it needs maintenance and tune-ups. And for you to be healthy, you need a regular rhythm of rest.

Memorize: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters” (Ps. 23:1-2).

Until next time, may the goodness and mercy of God follow you all the moments of this day!