Friday slowdown

 Savior, like a Shepherd lead us . . . much we need thy tender care.   Amen!

A rod, a staff, and some oil

 

Yesterday when we paused, I mentioned the presence of the Shepherd, and also His equipment. Let's dig into that today!

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

"You are with me."

So much packed into those words! We touched on some thoughts about the valley itself yesterday. Why would a good shepherd go there? If we are talking about a shepherd Who would lay down His life for the sheep, why would He lead a lamb into a valley filled with danger?

There's only one good answer here . . . 

To get to a better place!

When we are walking through an unfamiliar valley and the shadows are deep and dark; when we have cancer and we're trying to decide which of the treatments offered is the best for the body God has loaned to us; when finances are tight and we take on another job to make ends meet; when friends or family appear to have betrayed us . . . . we need to remember this: our Savior and Shepherd has appointed even this difficult time, this hard-scrabble pathway as one of His paths of righteousness. He is leading us through the valley for reasons that may not be apparent (maybe not for quite some time). But we can rest assured that He is taking us to the high summer meadows, where the sun is bright and warm, and the grass is green, fresh, and lush.

Every.

Single.

Pathway.

Every one, no matter how it seems at the time, is a pathway to something better.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless. (Psalm 84:11)

The valley may not seem good. But our Shepherd is! He knows the way, and He is near. When we step into our valley, and it's so dark we can't see our hand in front of our face, He wants us to hear this: He is with us. We don't need anything else to get us through the valley. All we need is our Shepherd - and He says He will ALWAYS be with us. 

God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5b-6)

The sheep not only have the shepherd's presence, but also his equipment to keep them safe and contented. 

"your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

The shepherd's rod was a stout club made of hard wood; it would have had a rounded head that was whittled from a knot in the tree. Sometimes the shepherds pounded bits of rock or metal into the rounded portion. It could be used to defend the sheep from attacking predators, and it could also be used to (more gently, I think) discipline wayward, stubborn sheep. We can see it both as a symbol of authority and of power. As His sheep, we believers can take comfort in the fact that God is in charge; we have no fear in adversity since we have the protection of almighty God.

because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. (I John 4:4)

While the shepherd's rod was a symbol of authority, his staff was a symbol of concern. The staff, or shepherd's crook, was long and had a crook at one end. That crook could be used to guide the sheep; just a gentle tap or just being laid along the side of the sheep's body would encourage them to move back onto the pathway, or to move inside the safety of the fold. The crook could also be used to gather up a sheep from a spot where it may have fallen. As believers, we can be content in the presence of our Shepherd, and in the guidance of His rod and staff; even though they might be uncomfortable at times, they will only be used for our benefit. We can feel comforted that our Savior is guarding our steps, lifting us back up out of the potholes of life, making sure that we make it through the darkness safely.

When we find ourselves feeling weak, feeling our way in the dark valley, we can be contented as David was that our Shepherd knows the way, and that He will never leave us -- and that He has good reasons for taking this route, even though it is hard and scary. We can hold on to the truth that there is something better waiting for us on the other side of the valley.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil; (Psalm 23:5)

Verse five gives us a picture of the confidence of believers, even in the presence of conflict and strife. In the presence of his enemies, David says, he can sit down to a feast table prepared by his Good Shepherd. Not just sit down to it......that's our way of thinking. But in ancient times, you didn't pull our your chair and sit down, and then scooch it up to the table. 

Nope.

You reclined at table. On cushions. Think about that, and then in your mind's eye, picture a menacing enemy coming through the banquet hall doorway. Kinda hard to get up from a cushion and defend oneself with a knife or sword or whatever, right?

I think this is what is meant by verse five. Our Bible is clear that our lives with Christ will not be free from conflict. Paul even called his ministry a fight! If we are standing for God and for His Word, we will have enemies and conflict. Nobody likes conflict, but the Good Shepherd takes care of His sheep by protecting them while they feast at a table - in the presence of their enemies. Even in the times of strife, we can know the abundant provision of our Lord.

The oil?
Bet y'all thought I had forgotten that!    "anointed my head with oil."

The shepherds anointed sheep with oil to help in healing their wounds; perhaps a scratch or a scrape from briers along the pathway, or a nip from another sheep. Oil also keeps the flies and bugs away. The sheep and lambs could not lie down contentedly if insects are swarming around their noses or their ears, or if open wounds are troubling them. The shepherd would take care of that by using a little oil on them. 

Application for today?

It's often the smaller irritations in our lives that work to rob us of our contentment. We need to cope with frustrating circumstances and with frustrating people! To handle both situations and people we need the qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness and self-control . . . 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

In the Bible, oil is often a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Our Shepherd has gifted us with the oil of the Spirit. The Spirit can keep small irritations from "bugging" us! 

David is telling us in this familiar psalm that contentment is possible. When we walk with our Good Shepherd in the hard times, in spite of fear, conflict, and irritations, we can know confidence and contentment along the pathway.

Contentment through hard times

 

The next two verses of our psalm tell us that we can have contentment as we walk with the Good Shepherd through the hard times. Not just as we pause and receive spiritual food and drink, but in the trials of life, too.

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows. (Psalm 23:4-5)

Our Good Shepherd doesn't provide contentment by shielding His flock from trials. He doesn't guarantee that we'll have no trials. What He promises is His presence in the midst of trials. (Amen? Amen!)

The scholars point out that in the first three verses, David uses "HE" to refer to the Lord. Third person. In verses four and five, when he speaks about times of trial, David shifts gears and uses the more intimate pronoun "You." He moves from talking about how God cares for him, to talking about being in communion with that caring God. 

In times of fear, trial, and conflict, we need to draw even closer in an intimate relationship with our Good Shepherd . . . not to pull away in hurt or anger ("Why is He allowing this to happen to me?"), but to draw closer and feel His presence and comfort. I kinda think that the change and more personal language has to do with the fact that David has been there. He's done that. He even brought home the tee shirt. . . .some of David's darkest hours have also been the times that he learned to keep his eyes on the Lord. If we are honest with ourselves, we will nod our heads, that is true for us as well. When we are munching on the bright green pasture grass, we talk about God. When trials come, and maybe darkness, too, we talk TO God, and we cling to His hand.

In Phillip Keller's famous book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, he points out that this verse about the "darkest valley" is referring to the route to the best summer feeding pastures.  (Some translations use the words "valley of death" and others use "darkest valley." Surely either way of reading the verse has great meaning for us as believers.)  These summer meadows are high on the hills, but the most gentle route for the sheep to follow is to go through the valley. The valley will have some water sources, too. But there are many dangers there . . . Sudden storms can lead to flash floods or mud-slides. Predators can lurk above and then pounce down onto the sheep. Steep ravines can startle a sheep and they can stumble at the edge and fall. I think there's a verse in Jeremiah that explains what this could look like:

They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ (Jeremiah 2:6)

A fearful place. A place of extreme danger and darkness. At the bottom of a valley, one can be enveloped in darkness created by overhanging trees and bushes, or by towering boulders carved by wind and rain. The boulders block the sun and then tiny sounds that were imperceptible before are magnified by the imagination. Fearful as we go, we can be overtaken by predators if we stray from the shepherd's side.

We Christians often say that it's our desire to walk on a higher plane of Christian life. We say that we want to experience that close communion with God that David spoke of. But do we often think it should be an easier task to get there? To the mountain-top experience? 

Today's technology has allowed a whole new type of mountaineer to brave the cold and wind of mountain climbing. Hikers today can begin their trek part of the way up their chosen mountain! Helicopters ferry them to points along the path - the trek is not so hard, nor so long, when they've been air-lifted part of the way! As believers, is this what we envision? But wait! God doesn't air-lift His flock to the mountain top . . . the only way to higher ground is to walk with the Good Shepherd through some fearful, even terrifying valleys. We may despair even of life itself. But it's in the valleys of life that we find close communion with our God, and contentment as we walk alongside Him.

There are two things that help us be content as we walk in a valley of fear: the Shepherd's presence and the Shepherd's equipment.

We'll look at those when we study tomorrow.

Restoring our souls, guiding our feet

Y'all still with me, here? (Grin)

We've discussed the "quiet waters" and "green pastures" . . . let's keep up with the flock as they trot along the pathway!

He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For the sake of His name. (Psalm 23:3, NASB)

In my studies, I saw that the Hebrew word "restore" can be one of two meanings: "turning back," or "refreshing." Maybe we believers are like sheep that stray off the trail because there's an interesting looking plant over there - looks delicious! But the shepherd knows it is poisonous. Or maybe we have gotten separated from the rest of the ewes and lambs and a predator is lurking nearby, ready to pounce on us. We can even be like the sheep that roll onto their backs (I read recently that the shepherds call this becoming "cast") and are not able to get back on their feet. I had never heard of that before, but I read that they can die if they are not rescued in a few hours.....I thought it was just turtles that this happened to!

We Christians are not immune to straying from the path God calls us to walk in. Could be something tempting in the world, or it could be a desire from our old, sinful nature. We get separated from the flock and the shepherd. 

 Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

Our enemy is just waiting to pick off straying sheep. 

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (I Peter 5:8)

When we do start to stray, we are in danger -- we need spiritual restoration. How does He restore us? Well, there are two ways . . . first, His Word, and second, His people. 

The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19:7)

In II Timothy, we are reminded that the Word of God will point out where we are off the path, and it will also provide us with instruction on what we must do to be restored. 

Don't forget the second way we can be guided to receive restoration: 

Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. (Galatians 6:1)

I don't know about you, but I sure am glad that my Father knows me so well . . . He provides ways for me to be restored when I, like a silly sheep, stray from the path!

Our title up there also mentions that He, the Good Shepherd, will guide our feet. 

He guides me in the right paths,
    as he has promised. (Psalm 23:3b, GNT)

I particularly like how clearly the Good News Translation states that portion of the verse. We all need guidance - this world is confusing and often scary. God's Word tells us "go this way, and don't go down that path over there!"  

God's paths are paths of righteousness. Know just how important this is today? How many times have you seen or heard people take a path that isn't in line with His Word? Usually this is accompanied by words like, "It's OK, we are under grace." Or maybe, "the end is good, we just have to use different means to get there." These are people who claim to know the Good Shepherd but don't walk in His paths of righteousness. These are people who have cheapened the grace of God as a way to do wrong and then receive a quick "OK" on their actions.

Here is your ammunition if someone says this in your presence; tell them this from Paul's letter to a young pastor:

Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (II Timothy 2:19, NIT)

"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord" . . . . His name is used to describe us. His name is bound up in our walk as believers. He has chosen to allow His holy name to be identified with us. If we live just like the world, and don't appear to be any different, we cause His name to be denigrated, even to be blasphemed. He guides us in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Contentment?

It's achievable.

Step One is to make the Lord our shepherd. Step Two is to enjoy His provisions for us: spiritual food, living water, restoration, and guidance. 
We'll take up "next steps" when we study again. 

Content with the water He provides

Our good Shepherd not only provides us with "green pastures" or spiritual food; He also provides spiritual drink.

    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, (Psalm 23:2) 

Quiet waters. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Especially when we look around us and see broken cisterns. (Jeremiah 2:13)  Our Savior told us:

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39, NIV)

Why, oh why, are we not content with the Spirit? The quiet waters that Jesus was referring to? We are born again through the Spirit and He indwells us; He empowers us to live the holy lives that we aspire to, if we will depend upon Him. Jesus also told us that the Spirit would help us, comfort us, and teach us. Paul said that the Spirit will give us hope in our trials and that He prays for us. We even receive our spiritual gifts from Him, and we have boldness to witness if we rely upon Him.

With the bounty offered in the living water from our Good Shepherd, why would we want to quench our thirst with the polluted, busted up cisterns in this sinful world?

Let's think about our flock of sheep again - the shepherd (and his faithful dog, if he's lucky enough to have one) know where the watering holes are. They know just where to find clear, fresh water for the sheep to drink and be refreshed. But sometimes, in spite of the best efforts of the shepherd, and in spite of the nips and yelps of his dog, trying to encourage the sheep to go in the right direction, some of the flock will not wait. They stop to drink from polluted potholes along the trail. Places along the pathway that are contaminated with the dust, manure, and urine of previous flocks that traveled the pathway. 

Ugh. And it's SO bad for them. Sure, it satisfies them for the moment; their thirst is gone for the short term. But here's the thing: it will eventually make them truly sick. They will be taking in parasites and germs; tiny protozoans and bigger bacteria . . . they will stop thriving, get sick, and eventually even die. That's the price they pay for "instant gratification" and not following their shepherd to the fresh, clear water. 

You know where I'm going with this, right? (Grin) I'm so transparent.

Some believers are just like those sheep. They don't want to wait. They don't want to follow the Lord along that pathway in order to fulfill their desires. It takes too long. It's too much work. They want a quick fix, that "instant gratification" we mentioned. So, they are attracted to the polluted, sickness-inducing potholes of the world. "What can it hurt?" they say. What they don't realize (or care to remember, if they've been told) is that the consequences of sin can be delayed. Sometimes those seeds take quite a while to sprout and grow. Suddenly the sinful believer finds himself or herself riddled with the "parasites" and "disease" of sin. That believer is now in big trouble, and may even blame God for their problems!

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:7-9)

Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well these words:

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Are we content with the water our Good Shepherd provides? If we want true contentment, we must walk by the Holy Spirit. God will guide us and help us be more like our Redeemer.

Friday slowdown

 A slightly different rendition of our psalm . . . hope it blesses your heart.

Steps to contentment

 

WARNING: This post went longer than I thought it would.....grab a cup of tea and take your time!

We studied the first verse of Psalm 23 and we noted that in order to find true contentment, we first must know the Lord as our personal Shepherd. "The Lord is my Shepherd." Not anyone else - it must be a relationship between us and the covenant, faithful God of creation.

Let's move on to the second "step" to contentment:

    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, (Psalm 23:2)

"God will provide!"

We hear this phrase often, and too often it is tossed around casually and not appreciated. David is telling us about God's gracious provisions for our lives . . . as we study, we will see so many parallels between the care and compassion of a shepherd, and the love shown by our Good Shepherd.

Digging in to verse two . . . 

Not to re-plow the same ground, but II Peter told us that God has granted to us EVERYTHING pertaining to life. But many Christians are just not content. They take their eyes off the Lord and decide that they know better. They "dig their own cisterns" and search for what they think will satisfy.

“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
    the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:13)

If we turn away from God and what He has provided, we will never be able to know contentment. We will never know the truth of "He makes me lie down in green pastures."

Jesus told us that there is no greater satisfaction for Him than to see His flock well-fed, resting, secure. It is His desire above all else - our Shepherd literally lay down His life to achieve this.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10b)

Not just life. Not "getting by." But abundant life. This makes us see lush green pastures in our mind's eye. Thick grasses, wet with dew. Soft hillocks of wonderful, cushiony turfgrass.

But wait. 

Why, then, are there so many pictures of shepherds in dry, hot, desert-like areas? Why do we think of Moses keeping flocks on the "back side of the desert"? While it's true that much shepherding takes place in those areas, and that it's a vocation more often found there, it's also true that a good shepherd seeks better for his charges. 

Many varieties of sheep thrive in semi-arid areas, and are troubled less by pests and disease. But these areas are often parched and dry, and the grasses are brown and look more like the stubble left after a wildfire! Green pastures in the east, where David lived and wrote, were the result of a tremendous amount of work on the part of a shepherd. Shepherds needed to not only care for their flocks, but also for the land - they were skilled in land use and in improving it. Rocks must be removed to the edges of what would be a pasture, to form a kind of fence. Brush, roots, and stumps must be torn out. The ground must be plowed and soil prepared; irrigation must bring water to encourage grasses to grow -- all of this is vital for the forage needed to sustain the sheep. 

As a youngster, I wondered about the phrase that is used in the Old Testament to describe the Promised Land: a land flowing with milk and honey. At the time, it didn't make sense to me! This is not only poetic language, but it's language that describes a scientific concept! It speaks to the richness and fertility of the land, and also to the fact that when livestock is enjoying good pasturage, the momma cows and sheep can have an increased flow of milk for their babies. The bees that visit the blossoms of the grasses will be producing an increased flow of honey. (Archeological digs have uncovered beehives dating back to the ninth and tenth centuries BC in the area around Jericho.)

So, if we say (or read) that a land is flowing with milk and honey, we are speaking of a land of rich, green pastures.

So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. (Exodus 3:8, NASB)

Now, let's look back at our verse . . . the mental image of a sheep lying down is one that means the sheep is full. It has eaten enough. The sheep then lies down to "chew its cud" just as the cows do. The Good Shepherd has supplied us with green pastures, and I think that the number one reason why we believers lack contentment is that we don't spend as much time in those pastures as we ought to! We don't feed consistently in His Word. We allow our minds to be filled with the brown stubble and dry grass of television, movies, news shows, and the newspapers. Then we wonder why our minds are troubled, and we are beset with anxiety! 

Let us be like the Jews in Berea; let's be eager to believe and eager to search the Scriptures. Let's allow the scriptures to be just as vital, just as important as our daily food.

How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)

I have treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You. (Psalm 119:11)

God's Word has milk for the lambs in Christ, the babes, the new believers. His Word also has meat for the more mature. If only we will feed on His Word daily, we will find contentment in our Savior.