Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of our gentle God. He cares for us so graciously! His provision is regularly more comprehensive than anything we would imagine or could successfully procure on our own if we did imagine it.
I have made Psalm 23 into a song, and that is how I frequently review the psalm. In my song, verse 2 comes out as “I rest in green pastures.” Sometimes, however, I think on the Bible’s actual words, and the verse reads, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.”
Realizing the difference made me ponder the Bible’s words anew. It’s not just that I rest in the pastures, but that my Shepherd makes me rest. In my mind, that “making” doesn’t seem forceful, like an unyielding master who demands that his subjects lie down or he will see to it that they do. So I looked up the meaning of the word to get its flavor.
When I did, I discovered that “he makes me” is not even represented in the Hebrew text. The verb is “lie down,” and it can be active or passive. In this case, it is passive (or causative). In other words, I am lying down, not because I made that choice, but because my Shepherd made that choice for me and directed me to do it. So the words supplied by the translators reflect that I am the object rather than the subject of the action. (“He lies me down.”)
That still didn’t really help me with the flavor of the word. A shepherd could make such a decision either harshly or gently, either abusively or graciously. So I kept looking, and I found that the word is used thirty times in the Old Testament. The actual meaning is to stretch out, recline, or repose. When used passively, as in this case, it is to make someone sit or rest. All of these have the idea of comfort and repose. Most of the references refer to animals, and they generally give the idea of being at rest or at home in a place of comfort, provision, and belonging. It is where the animals feel protected and safe. It is where their needs are met. This is entirely in keeping with my original impression of Psalm 23:2 and with the gentle nature of our Shepherd.
My next thought was about why the Shepherd must guide me to lie down in that pleasant place of provision. Shouldn’t that be my natural inclination? To choose the easiest and most appealing? Quite frankly, no, that isn’t always what I choose. How many times have I instead chosen turmoil, conflict, and disquiet? How often have I kept myself encumbered with sorting things out and thinking things through? How often have I labored to find solutions, ultimately walking down paths that were far rougher than what I needed to walk?
The truth is that sometimes I do need God to slow me down and make me rest. Otherwise, I don’t always end up where I ought to be. I am reminded of Psalm 61:2. “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Again, I am not naturally where I need to be. I need to be guided and led to the place of comfort, protection, and provision. Even in my times of deepest need (“my heart is overwhelmed”), I don’t always go the right place unless God helps me to get there.
We don’t always go to the right place even when we know what it is, and often we don’t know. “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). Sometimes we think we know the right path, but the way we would naturally choose is unnecessarily a harder path than it needs to be. It might even be a path that cannot end well. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25).
What a blessing it is that we can trust God to guide and direct us in the right ways. Those paths will not always be green pastures and still waters. Certainly, there will also be difficult times and times of testing. But I wonder how often would God guide us into green pastures, into rest and provision, into the comforts of home and belonging, if only we would be more sensitive to His prompting. Might it sometimes be with us like it was with Jerusalem? “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, … how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37).
Dear gentle Shepherd, help us to be sensitive to Your guidance. Help us not to stray on our own, wandering down paths that are too hard. Let us feel Your prompting, so that when we simply need to rest under Your care, that we would do that without striving or seeking our own solutions. Let us not resist or ignore the resting, but teach us to rest in the green pastures that You have provided and to trust You as the good Shepherd who always knows what is best.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
