Green Pastures

             The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (KJV)

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. (NIV)

Psalm 23:1-3

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

          Having looked at the first phrase yesterday, it’s time to move on to the second, and to face the difficulties we attach to it. I shall not want...I lack nothing. What does this mean? While we might not admit it too openly, it probably means to most of us that God isn’t doing His job if we don’t get a new vehicle, a new home, and a super-sized drink of our choice along with the Filet Mignon that He’s supposed to dish up whenever we want it. We’re like the kid who sees the toy, “Daddy, I want that.”

          But as David sang this song, he didn’t end with “I shall not want.” He goes on to describe things that he does not lack. As David’s Shepherd, the Lord made him lie down in green pastures. Not only does the Lord lead us to the sustenance we need (which may not be the Filet we want) but He makes us lie down and rest there. Such rest is necessary to sheep, who might tend to gorge themselves with more food, or worse food, if not guided.

          The problem with this is that we don’t tend to want to consume what is good for us in quantities that are healthy. We want to eat stuff that isn’t healthy, and to eat too much. In addition, we need to keep in mind what was taught about our diet. Man doesn’t live by bread alone. So, while we may whine about not having food to eat, God has made the Scriptures available to us.

          Just as the shepherd leads his flock to the best possible food and makes them rest even if they would prefer a different food, he leads them beside still waters, where they can safely drink. And, just as there is a spiritual parallel to the food, there is a spiritual parallel to the water expressed in a number of Scriptures not quoted above (John 1:33, John 3:5 and others.)

          Have you ever watched still water? It’s like watching grass grow or paint dry. It doesn’t do a lot. It’s the sort of water sheep need to drink: clean and pure, but boring. I’ve said before that I struggle with the idea of peace, because emotionally, there are no peaks, no valleys – nothing but the same flatland. It feels like being dead. I’m not alone in this. Why do people read romances? Watch horror movies? Listen to music? Isn’t it generally to experience some emotion we think lacking in our lives? And after several repetition, doesn’t the same level of emotional stimulus bore us? We need a bigger scare, and steamier romance, more explosive adventure!

          We often crave that in our worship, too. It’s not worship unless it gets us all ramped up, excited, or emotionally wrung out, We tend to think of the Spirit as the bringer of the ups and downs, or of spiritual parties, but David says the shepherd leads his sheep by still waters. That is where we can quench our thirst for life.