He makes me lie down

  The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

He leads me beside still waters, 

He restores my soul, 

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me, 

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies, 

you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. 

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

                                        Psalm 23

        In verse one of this Psalm, King David tells us that the Lord is not only our shepherd, but a Good Shepherd. A Protector who cares for his sheep. Verse 2 demonstrates to us that not only are we protected by God, but we have a soft, safe place to rest as the world around us seems to get crazier and rougher. "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters." What would it feel like to rest by still waters, despite our lives not always allowing us to do so? Think back to a story of Jesus and his disciples. Jesus had finished preaching, and after sending the crowd home, he got into a boat with his 12 disciples. By the time the boat was far from land, Jesus had settled in the bottom of the boat and was getting some holy zzz's. After a little while, the wind began to pick up, and a nasty storm began to rock to the boat. The disciples, many of who were former fisherman, began panicking and fearing they would be tossed overboard. They go into the bottom of the boat, and decide to wake up Jesus from his nap and beg him to save them. Jesus gets up, goes up to the front of the boat, and simply tells the storm to take a chill pill. The waters immediately become calm, and the crew arrives safely at their destination. Jesus was able to sleep, even among the storm, because his father, The Good Shepherd, is bigger than the storm and protects those he loves just as he does still today. 

        All throughout life, we will experience storms that shake our faith. In some cases, when we call out to the Father, he comes in a speaks to the storm and it disappears in an instant. I have found in my own life that in most cases, however, God still comes in during my time of need, but instead of calming the storm around me, he calms me. As the sheep of God's pasture, we can trust our shepherd to guide us and lead us away from the tumult areas of life, and let us rest beside the still waters. 

"for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak"- Jeremiah 31:25

"and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus"- Philippians 4:7

Trust the guiding of the father, and he will give you rest in a safe place that is full of life and peace.

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Psalms. 

The Lord is my Shepherd

 The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

He leads me beside still waters, 

He restores my soul, 

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me, 

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies, 

you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. 

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

                                        Psalm 23

        All throughout the book of psalms, we are given praise and promises we can use to help combat the attacks of the enemy. Some focus on the physical aspects, others on the mental attacks. Psalm 23 focuses on the physical. Long before David was a great king, he was the youngest son of a Bethehemite named Jesse, and a shepherd boy. While his older brothers went off to fight battles, little David had to stay back and protect his father's sheep. Overtime, he learned how to defend himself and keep the sheep safe by learning how to use a slingshot and warding off the predators that tried to attack. As a shepherd, he learned what the sheep need. What they eat, and drink, how to grow big and healthy. King David wanted us to know that the Lord watches over his children in the same way. As a shepherd, the Lord knows every sheep by name and what they need as an individual, but also how to protect them as a herd. 

        As sheep, we don't always know what we are doing. There are moments when the only voice we hear is the voice of the Shepherd, leading us to drink or eat, or guiding us down a safe path. We lack nothing as simple sheep, and that is all due to the Shepherd. What makes this psalm so powerful is not the different attributes of God, how we are safe in secure in all situations, although those are good. This psalm, especially right from the beginning is the 4th word in first verse: MY. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." This word changes God from a being out there who only watches out for the church as a whole body, and it paints him as a personal, loving God. One who knows us by name, and what we need to grow and to be covered by his watchful eye. 

        Today, we still serve this same God, who protects us and watches over us. We just have to be willing to surrender ourselves and trust that the place he is leading us is good and right, and that he knows what we need. 

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Psalms