Green Pastures, Part I

If we are not careful, it is very easy to get wrapped up in the worries and stresses of life. Anxiety and depression are at an all-time high. Our society thrives on the mindset of squeezing as many activities as possible into every single day to make life “better.” Got to have the kids in every activity and then some to keep them busy. All it ends up doing, however, is stressing them out, stressing you and your family out and prevents you from forming meaningful relationships with neighbors and friends. There is great cost to running the “rat race” day in and day out, one of which is disconnect to others in our society.

Go back 30 years or so to when I was growing up, and we were home almost every night, together. However, we worked very, very hard doing chores inside and out. At the crack of dawn on Saturdays, we were pulled out of bed to start working again. Activities outside the home were somewhat limited, but we would on occasion visit with neighbors and our extended family, most of whom lived within 15 minutes of our house. The world did not revolve around dance classes, gymnastics, sports and the like. Work, work, work was the mantra of our day.

The most important thing to remember in every area of life is moderation. Although activities can teach some important skills as can working hard to help the family out, these too need to be done in moderation. Rest was God’s idea. He even rested on the seventh day from creating the entire universe and everything in it! If He did it, then we should too!

Growing up in that kind of environment made it nearly impossible for me to learn how to rest, and have fun with my friends and family. Especially when I became a single mom, where there was always too much to do and not enough time. Rest? Lay down? Chill in the pool with the kids? Who had time for that?

In 2012, after 42 years of living ragged like this, my body could not handle it anymore. I had the left side of my body go limp and I started to get a lot of numbness and tingling in my arms and legs. When I called the doctor, her office told me it sounded like I may have had a mini stroke. Testing came out negative for that, but that was the beginning of a wakeup call. Then, the Lord told me very specifically in 2013 that it’s “okay to rest. You need to rest your body and rest in me.” Talk about a huge request from God! However, I knew that He was asking me to do this for a reason, so I asked Him to help me do this as it was nearly impossible for me to do this on my own, having grown up with “work, work, work” alone being ingrained into my very being. I learned a strong work ethic and our house looked spotless inside and out, but it also made it hard to do what even God Himself did on the seventh day, rest.

Psalm 23:1-2 speaks of rest. When our focus turns to Him daily in the midst of the busyness of life, we immediately feel rested and are at peace, no matter what is going on in our lives. Nothing else can bring the amazing peace and rest that only He brings. THE LORD “is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” (vs 1) of anything! When we meditate on this, we are completely at rest, knowing that no matter what we are facing, we will not be in want, because HE is our shepherd. “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters…” (vs 2). What an ultimate picture of rest! Close your eyes and picture yourself lying in a green pasture. What do you see and feel? Green pastures are vivid with the colors of the flowers, the big, beautiful blue sky and thick green grass, soft, cool and comforting to the touch.

Notice that verse 2 does not say that “he hopes or wants that I lie down in green pastures (a picture of perfect rest).” It says that he “makes me lie down in green pastures.” Occasional rest is just what the ultimate “doctor” ordered. If we cannot do this on our own, sometimes God allows situations to come into our lives to reset our priorities and make us rest. In my case, my health took a turn for the worse and I am still battling health difficulties, but I have learned through this that it is ok to occasionally rest my body.

 Then he says that he “leads me (gently) beside quiet waters,” not “leads me hurriedly beside rushing waters.” Another perfect picture of rest with our precious Lord. When we learn to do this, it becomes our favorite, and most rewarding, part of the day! I would take one solid quiet hour with Him over a whole day doing anything else! Won’t you join me in spending at the very least one hour a day in His presence, resting in Him, talking with Him and meditating on His Word? J