“…He leads me beside the still waters.”
Psalm 23:2……………………..
Have you ever looked out at still waters? So peaceful. Quiet. Serene. Calm. Calming. Relaxing. Restful. Undisturbed. Even. Tranquil. Soothing. Lulling. Like a lullaby. Sleepy. Repose. Oh, to look out upon waters like this. To gaze upon them when all else in life seems, and feels, and looks, and sounds so busy, so unruly, so chaotic, so stressful, so challenging, so hard, so hustle and bustle, so much drama, so trying, so many hurdles, obstacles, so noisy, so hurtful, so like a roller coaster, up, down, too low, too high, all over the map, always moving, this way, that way, wrong way, right way, detours, road maps, which way to go, questions, choices, decisions, on and on, and oh, sigh, wouldn’t it be so nice to unwind somehow, some way, to go away, to get away, to take a break, to get a reprieve, to unfurl, before carrying on again on life’s pathway, on life’s journey. Oh, how good the Good Shepherd is to us! He will lead you beside the still waters. Will you let Him?
But waters aren’t only to be looked upon, are they? They are to be drunk of. To quench our thirst. To satisfy our desire. To hydrate. And rehydrate. To replenish. To fill up. To fulfill. Delicious. To energize. To sustain. To splash over. To so fill there is overflow. To all around. Splashing out of the glass, out of the cup. Out of the container, the vessel. Satisfying and all at the same time making thirsty for more. Does the Good Shepherd lead His sheep beside still waters only to look out upon them? Throughout the Bible, water is often equated with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. The Lord wants to pour His Spirit into us. To quench our thirst for Him. To satisfy what we yearn for, when we yearn for Him.
A friend told me sheep are afraid of moving waters, and do best with still waters. I’m not an expert on sheep. I only know God’s human sheep can thrive on the quiet and peace of Christ and on thirsting and being filled and re-filled with His glorious Spirit. Do you yearn for Jesus? For the Father? For the Lord? Thirsty? Let Him lead you away from the noise and busyness of life and guide you beside still waters. Look out upon the span of the waters of His Spirit, come undone in Him, and drink thirstily, drink plentifully, drink abundantly, drink greedily, asking Him to baptize you in His Spirit and to fill you, again, and again, with His Spirit. Thirst for Him!