Come Sit A Spell

Part 2…Psalms 23:2,  “He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters.”The Passion translation states it this way, “He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love, His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.”Wow! 

Sheep without a shepherd will wonder and get lost. Guidance is one of the most important jobs of the shepherd. He leads the sheep to green pastures where he makes sure they are fed and find rest. The deal is He only “offers” us what we need it’s our responsibility to take it. He leads me to green pastures but I must sit down and eat and find rest. 

How many times have we been offered to sit in green pastures but in our flesh we continue to work to fix our situation, looking for our own way to be the answer? A lot of times our answer is to come away with Jesus and let Him minister to us in rest. Rest is important. Without rest and sleep we will become psychotic within days. We are not built to function without rest. 

So why do we push ourselves and go go go…neglecting the common sense of rest? Because we don’t trust that God will take care of us and instead try to do it on our own, in our own strength. Sooner or later our strength will fail us and we end up with health issues when all the while God was calling us away to green pastures to restore us and help us. That’s dumb.

The Holy Spirit leading us to green pastures and still waters is His way of saying hey, you need to slow down, get with me, let me minister to you what you need for what is ahead. If He’s leading you like that now, pay attention! He knows something you don’t. I’m currently in that season…He said pull back, get with Me, let me fill you up for what is coming. So since January I’ve been doing that.  

He led me to Psalms 23 and I began to study it, and here we are. I’m just feeding you off of my plate! I’ve always been a doer. It took God a long time to slow me down. Because I didn’t listen it came with a heavy price. I hurt my body and I am living with those consequences. I wish I would have wised up a lot sooner, but I did finally listen!!

I’ve found so much peace in being. Taking the time to sit in green pastures with Jesus. His rest is more than simple rest. It’s restorative. When I quiet my soul I hear His voice more clearly and sense His leading more accurately. Our whole Christian life is dependent on hearing His voice. Maybe that is why the enemy pushes us so hard to NOT be still, NOT rest, NOT wait…hmmm.

When we feel pushed, compelled, rushed and anxious we can know it is not God. He doesn’t speak to us that way. In 1 Kings 19:11-12 God is speaking to Elijah and says, “Go out and standbefore me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was notin the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was notin the earthquake.  And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was notin the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.”

God told him to go and stand…not do anything. Just stand and wait. He found out God was NOT in the loud noise, the strong wind or the fire…but in the gentle whisper. God will not meet us in our busyness but in our stillness. Ouch that really hurt my feelings.

Are you overwhelmed and tired? Is God asking you to come away and rest? Most importantly are you listening to His leading?