“His (Christ’s) heart is the green pastures and still waters of endless reassurances of his presence and comfort, whatever our present spiritual accomplishments. It is who he is.”*
If you are like me, this beautiful statement may remind you of Psalm 23, possibly the most known Psalm. I had some awareness of this Psalm years before I ever read the Bible or heard even one message about the gospel gift of salvation. There is so much to take to heart in the six verses of Psalm 23 yet often it is the green pastures and still waters that bring me the most comfort and assurance.
As this message reaches your in-box, we are in the midst of VBS this week. Green pastures and still waters have given way to jungle adventure and, maybe, water balloons! But the green pastures and still waters are in my mind and heart. Due to a time of great challenge when fear was gripping my heart. Having woke up with such great despair, I turned on my bedside lamp, crying as I reached for the Bible. The ribbon page-marker was on Psalm 23 and so I read.
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 paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Even 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 before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23.1-6
Amen and amen!
That night I camped on these verses. I did not allow myself to fall back into exhausted-from-crying sleep until I could say the first four sentences by memory. My nowhere-to-go-but-to-God trust in those first statements fueled the memorization of the full six verses over the next days. I find comfort, hope, assurance with every reading of it.
That’s my hope for the children and the team of workers at VBS. That they will move through and beyond this event with a place in their hearts and minds to return to when fear threatens their sense of well-being. Be it the jungle or the green pasture, He is with me. Of this I am assured!
Surely (surely!!) goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and (and! There’s more?) I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever (forever!) (parentheses my interjections)
With joy and immeasurable gratitude for Christ’s love, mercy, and grace, Colleen
*Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 66.