When the Lord is my Shepherd I have no want for refreshment

“He leads me beside still waters.” Psalm 23:2b

When David says the Lord “leads me beside still waters,” he is probably thinking of an incident that takes place in the life of a shepherd in Palestine. Sheep are deeply afraid of running water. Instinctively they know that if water should get on their coats of wool, they would sink beneath the stream. As a result, they will only stand beside a stream of water without drinking even when they are extremely thirsty. Their fear of the running water keeps them from drinking.

When a wise shepherd sees this, he moves in with his rod and staff to pry loose some large rocks with which to dam up the raging stream so that his sheep can safely drink from the “stilled waters.” In the midst of a rushing stream, he provides refreshment for the flock with water he has stilled.

The wise shepherd leads his sheep “beside” the still waters, not “through” them or “into” them. He knows that his sheep are afraid of running water. So he first calms those raging waters and then leads his sheep “beside” them where they can safely drink and be refreshed.

Has your Good Shepherd ever done this for you? Have the raging streams of the coronavirus or other difficult circumstances of life seemed to be more than you could bear? Have you drawn back in fear recently when it seemed like life was like a rampaging stream about to suck you under and bury you beneath its flow? But then your Good Shepherd moves in with His rod and staff, and He works through those circumstances you fear most and makes them a source of spiritual refreshment?

God is a very gracious and understanding Shepherd. He knows His sheep better than we know ourselves. He knows our fears and our vulnerabilities. So He “leads us beside” a rushing stream to still its waters so we may be refreshed and soothed. It’s important to remember that God’s responsibility is to lead us and still the waters that overwhelm us. It is our responsibility to follow Him.

Martha Snell Nicholson had been bedridden for several years with a terminal illness. After a partial recovery came a series of difficult operations which seemed to do little good. In her last years she was in constant pain and increasing weakness. One day her physician told her that her condition was too far advanced to respond to treatment. In that hour she wrote this poem entitled, “When He Putteth Forth His Own Sheep.”

I could not walk this darkening path of pain alone;

The years have taken toll of me;

Sometimes my banners droop; my arms have grown too tired,

And laughter comes less easily.

And often these – my shrinking cowardly eyes refuse

To face the thing ahead of me,

The certainty of growing pain and helplessness…

But oh, my Lord is good, for He

Comes quickly to me as I lie there in the dust

Of my defeat and shame and fear;

He stoops and raises me and sets me on my feet,

And softly whispers in my ear

That He will never leave me – nay, that He will go

Before me all the way. And so,

My hand in His, along this brightening path of pain,

My Lord and I go together

The peace of God is not the absence of problems, but the presence of Christ in the midst of those problems. Jesus is aware of our difficulties. He is present with us in our problems. We fear not, because He is with us and He is in charge.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for leading me and not abandoning me. Only You can take what I fear the most and turn it into something that soothes and refreshes me. Please help me to follow You even when it does not make sense to me. In Your name. Amen.