He "makes" me rest

In next few blogs I will speak of our Shepherds leading. All believers believe that God leads and guides His sheep, yet how often do we really seek it? _______ You fill in the answer.

September 8, 2015

Worship: All the Way My Savior as performed by Chris Tomlin

All the way my Savior leads me
Who have I to ask beside
How could I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my guide

All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread
Gives me grace for every trial
Feeds me with the living Bread

You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me
O, the fullness of His love
O, the sureness of His promise
In the triumph of His blood
And when my spirit clothed immortal
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way
Jesus led me all the way

All the way my Savior leads me
All the way my Savior leads me

https://youtu.be/Lvi1UM_4YcM

Witness:

It’s a rainy day today. Not much went on today. Some chores and shopping and dinner and sitting down to my quiet time. My mind shifts to last night as I type this portion of my quiet time. During my quiet time I was interrupted by a desperate plea from a brother in the Lord I had met recently. He was distraught about something happening in his life. Up until now I had not spoken to him since we had met together with at a local men’s gathering called Band of Brothers. It meets twice a year for twelve weeks to study from a workbook based on ten scriptures that give purpose and direction for men as well as a call to purity and devotion and leadership in their spheres of influence. Our motto, repeated at every meeting is: “So others may live!” Broken down into various platoons we get to know a little about each other in our small group of men. Within each platoon we are assigned an accountability partner. This brother was not my accountability partner. That is what was so amazing about this sudden call for help. I must tell you that I pray for each of my brothers in that platoon every day so it shouldn’t have come as too much of a shock. God is good and I believe God will use me to help my brother. I tremble though, feeling so inadequate, but my God will supply all that is needed as our faithful Shepherd.

WORD:

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. A Psalm of David. KJV

1The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4Even though I walk through the darkest valley,a I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

As I start this session with the WORD, I see something I never noticed before. The punctuation marks; they differ from version to version. There were no punctuation marks in the original. The translators added them. The NIV and some others link green pastures and quiet waters and restoring or refreshing of the soul together. The RSV links green pastures with verse one and waters with restoration. The KJV and others put green pastures and waters together and link restoration or refreshing of the soul with the paths of righteousness. Not being an expert in this field I will have to study some more to see if I can come to any conclusion.

In the meantime, what can I learn from the phrase, “he makes me lie down in green pastures”? I am struck by the word “makes”. Certainly this is not meant in a coercive sense. That would be a ludicrous thought. The shepherd in the Middle East often had to lead his flock from green pasture to green pasture. The need for rest for his sheep would be uppermost in the shepherd’s mind. However, he would not let them rest in a dry or rocky place, but in one of the lush oasis he came across. God knows we need rest and yes food in our journey of life. He gave us the word for food and the Sabbath for rest. Without getting into arguments on days, Sunday, the Lord’s day should be a time of rest. Some, though have to work, but a time of rest is important for our spiritual and physical well being. When the Lord leads you to rest, then rest. That is His will.