I have heard a lot of people referring to Pslam 23 lately so I thought I would give it a closer look. In my last post I told you about the embarrassing misunderstanding of the first line that I had when I was a child. So today I wanted to look at the second verse and tell you what it means to me now compared to when I was a child. And in the weeks to come I will continue on through the entire passage.
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Now why in the world would God make me lie down and lead me to places where I may not want to go? Why wouldn't God just let me do what I please? That was my perspective when I was a child. I know what I want to do and God should just let me do it. That made sense to me. And the truth is God will let you do that if you don't listen to Him.
All those years when I strayed it wasn't because God no longer cared for me. I no longer listened to God. That little voice in my head saying slow down, rest, rejuvenate yourself was God talking to me. That voice I listened to that said push on. Do more, you don't need to rest was me telling myself what to do. And I got what I asked for. Exhaustion, frustration, self pity and disappointment. I set my goals too high and never took the time to ask God what his goals for me were.
I walked past the green pastures in search of golden pastures. I moved away from the still waters in search of excitement and the adventure of rough seas. I got what I searched for but it never seemed to be enough. The more I got the more I wanted and I discovered that I could never reach my goals in life because they were ever changing goals. All I really needed to do was to listen to God. He already had my goals set for me and Those goals never change. The truth is He knew I would stray and go my own way. But He also knew I would return to Him and the green pastures and still waters were waiting for me, right where He left them.
Have a Blessed day,
Greg
Greg,
ReplyDeleteWhat a completely soothing and peaceful picture of God's plan for us all. We were not meant to be rats living in a fast paced rat race.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Good post Greg! It's funny how we see things when we're young. In this fast paced society, it's nice to know God just wants us to rest in Him!!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I never knew until this year that REST is actually a spiritual discipline (and a gift from God!)
ReplyDeletePsalm 23 is definitely one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your child's perspective. It is good that you re-read the psalm as a child. It is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, we kids feared an old neighbor, Mercy, who would rush after us with a broom whenever we passed by her property. Well, one day in church when the minister read "May goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life," one of the town's little boys started crying and screamed, "Noooooo! I don't want Mercy to follow me all my life!"
Great post. Happy Thanksgiving and may God bless you abundantly :)
ReplyDeleteThanks. Eventually we all will learn that He knows best!
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying this walk through Psalm 23 and your reflections from when you were a child as compared to now. Good insight Greg.
ReplyDeleteWow. I've been guilty of walking past the green to search for the gold, when His heart was in my hand all along. He's all the gold I'll ever need.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
Thanks for stopping by today....and thank you for your kind words. I found the cabinet you were speaking of at Star furniture, thought it looked like an antique.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading your post.
Thanks again!
By the way....the sailor is my wonderful son in-love.
it's nice to know God just wants us to rest in Him!!
ReplyDeleterihanna video
Thank you so much for this inspiring message on Psalm 23. I have really enjoyed reading the posts on your blog. God bless, Lloyd
ReplyDeleteThe Shepherd knows best.
ReplyDelete