As we were driving to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, enjoying the summer-time greenery of the pastures, these lines from Psalm 23 came to mind. They come from a poem written thousands of years ago by King David, probably remembering his younger days as a shepherd caring for his father’s sheep.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me lie down in green pastures….
As you may remember, Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, which means we are compared to sheep in a metaphorical sense. Being equated to sheep is not necessarily a compliment because sheep are kinda stupid, they quickly stray, are dependent on others and easily frightened.
In order for sheep to lie down in peace they have need of a few important requirements. The first one is freedom from fear. Because sheep have a herd mentality, they are skittish and easily agitated. If even a little jack-rabbit hops from behind a bush and one startled sheep runs in fright, it can cause the entire flock to bolt into a stampede –the rest not even looking to see what caused the ruckus.
We too are easily carried away by fear if someone speaks terror or dread – whether it be true or false, real or imagined. It’s so easy to run with the herd, getting caught up in a mob mentality, simply reacting to the running of those around us.
Life is hazardous, unpredictable; no one knows what fears and anxieties any moment will bring. Usually it is the unexpected and unknown, or the fear of the unknown that throw us into a panic. Often our first impulse is to run from the harsh complexities of life – just like the sheep.
But if we look up, we’ll see our Good Shepherd waiting for us to turn to Him, desiring that we rest and not run. Admitting we cannot do life well on our own, he brings peace, calm and serenity – even in the midst of a terrible, horrible, no-good very bad day.
As I grow older, I am finally learning that no amount of worry, control or angst ever helped any problem I had. It only caused fear and dread. For years I tried to solve problems on my own, figure out and rely on my own wisdom, but rarely experienced the peace Jesus promised.
Why do we always think we can change people or control our circumstances?
Why is it so difficult to rest, to trust God to do his work in his time?
When will we ever give up and relinquish our ambitions to do God’s work for him?
Only when we choose to rest.
Another source of fear from which a shepherd delivers his sheep is rivalry, cruel competition and tension within the flock. In the animal kingdom there is an established order of dominance, better known as a pecking order with chickens, a horning order with cattle, and a butting order among sheep.
Usually a domineering, arrogant old ewe will be the boss of a flock. She maintains her position by butting and driving other ewes or lambs away from the best grazing. Then in turn they will use the same tactics of butting and shoving around those who are lower than they on the totem pole.
When there’s friction in the flock, the sheep cannot lie down in rest because they always have to be standing up to defend their rights and be on the lookout for safety. They need to constantly be on alert, never able to let down their guard for fear of losing out on food and safety.
But as past-shepherd Phillip Keller says,
…one point that always interested me very much was that whenever I came into view and my presence attracted their attention, the sheep quickly forgot their foolish rivalries and stopped their fighting. The shepherd’s presence made all the difference in their behavior.
Somehow, when the guy in charge, on a much higher status than those rude sheep, comes on the scene, they forget the silly scuffling and struggle for status and lie down. Contentment and peace within the flock ensues.
How much that scene sounds like us humans. We try to appear as if we have it all together, put on that toothy smile and strike a confident pose, yet still we feel the need to prove ourselves – to others as well as to us. But when we keep our eyes on our Good Shepherd, we know we are on even ground with everyone else, that without the grace of God we would be lost – a ship without a rudder, the proverbial hamster on a wheel going round and round yet arriving nowhere.
When my eyes are on my Master, they are not on those around me.
This is the place of peace, says Keller.
Jesus is so kind, so merciful to make us lie down in green pastures. On our own we would never do it because we’re too busy doing stuff. It’s only when we lie down and rest, trust him for tomorrow, and give thanks for what he is doing today, that we are content being in the silence of his presence. I have laid in green pastures more than I would like, but looking back I see it was only in this quiet, surrendered, helpless pose that He was able to get my attention on Him and off myself.
Lie down, look at your Shepherd and be at rest.
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