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Psalm 23:2 — He Leads Me Beside Quiet Waters
Psalms 23:2 says the Good Shepherd “makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters.” It paints a picture of welcome rest.
We all have times or periods of life that are not a time of rest. Times when we feel like we are running from place to place. Some of us feel like we’re running 365 days a year, and rest is never a part of our lives.
Often life seems to go faster and faster until it appears to be out of control. It seems like every week something comes up to keep life spinning.
MAKE TIME FOR REST
Why does rest seem so elusive?
One of the privileges of studying the Bible is that it speaks to you first before you share it with others. And I struggle with rest just like many of you. The issue of rest applies to all of us.
Psalm 23:2 says that our shepherd makes us lie down. And your response might be, “I don’t have time to lie down.”
But remember, David wrote this psalm after a very difficult, challenging time in his own life. So let’s focus on what’s going on despite the difficulties. And we need to keep it real. I’m not into fantasy, God talk, or spiritualizing everything.
Let’s be honest. Sometimes we’d like to know what in the world God is doing in our lives right here and right now.
We’ve all faced a disappointments that we simply do not understand, and that’s okay. We’re not going to understand everything. But let’s not just brush it aside and explain it away with some type of spiritual talk, as if that makes it all better.
To be fair, we’re usually clueless about God’s divine activity in the middle of our pain.
That’s where Psalm 23:1 comes in. It will provide us with rest no matter what the circumstances. Emotional rest, spiritual rest, or however you want to characterize it.
SHEPHERDS ARE CLOSE BY THEIR SHEEP
We have rest because we know God is there. Shepherds are always close by their sheep. That means our Good Shepherd is always there for us.
Sometimes we look up to or admire the giants of the faith as if they have an advantage here. We think, “If I were a giant of the faith, think of the close relationship I would have with God.”
Now, where do we get that? Not out of Psalm 23. Shepherds are always close to the sheep. ALL their sheep.
And remember, in ancient times being a shepherd was the lowest of the low in society. That was David’s job for many years. He understood that God was near, because he had personal experience as a shepherd. He knew a shepherd is always near his sheep. A shepherd doesn’t play favorites. Your position, however you want to do your hierarchy, does not matter in this scenario.
There’s a hero of the faith from the 17th century named Brother Lawrence. And Brother Lawrence was known for his intimate or close relationship with God. He worked in a monastery. He worked in the kitchen, and people would come to see him. They were attracted to him because of his peace and his satisfaction.
What if people came and knocked on your door and said, “You know, my life’s out of control. Satisfaction is fleeing. And I just want to talk to somebody who is characterized by peace and satisfaction.” Has anybody knocked on your door like that? That’s something to think about.
It doesn’t matter where you are spiritually. Positionally, the shepherd is close by.
FOLLOWING THE SHEPHERD IN EXODUS 14
Let’s look at the story in Exodus 14 to draw out some principles along these lines. I think it will be very helpful.
In Exodus 14 Israel is in Egypt. They’ve been forced to work as Pharaoh’s slaves for years, and they’ve finally been promised freedom. God had sent Moses to deal with Pharaoh, and when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let the people go, God sent ten plagues to change his mind. And now the people are going to leave Egypt.
When it was time to move out, God told them, “Okay, here’s where we’re going to go and this is what we’re going to do.” At this point, the people are just following the shepherd.
Now they’re packed and ready. The anticipation builds. They move out, and right away there’s a problem.
The problem began on the banks of the Red Sea. Obviously when you get to a body of water like that, you have to stop. They didn’t have a bunch of boats. There’s no bridge. And at this point, nobody’s ever walked on water. There’s nowhere to go.
The Bible says that as Pharaoh drew near, “the people lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them. And the people of Israel feared greatly.”
Notice that the people are not living by faith at this point. They are living by sight. By what they see in the moment. We understand this because we do the same thing all the time.
Fear is normal, it’s natural, and it’s real.
The story continues, “And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt?'” But they had more to say to Moses.
“You’ve taken us away to die in the wilderness,” they accuse him. Not that things were that good in Egypt, but nonetheless. Their response was, “What have you done to us?” In their eyes, it’s Moses’ fault.
So they tell him, “Isn’t this what we said to you in Egypt? To leave us alone?”.
If you go back and read the story, you won’t see those words. “Leave us in Egypt that we may serve the Egyptians.”? Believe me, that is not what they said. But when you’re in trouble, you tend to lose all equilibrium.
And the words, “It would have been better for us to serve them than to die in the wilderness.” That’s probably not true, either.
Moses responds with, “Fear not.”
“Fear not. Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which He’ll work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you’re never going to see again. The Lord will fight for you. You only have to be silent. “
That’s a good phrase to highlight and circle in your Bible. “The Lord will fight for you. You only have to be silent.”
And God did deliver them by miraculously parting the sea so they could walk across on dry ground.
GOD’S REDEMPTION IN EXODUS 14
The story in Exodus 14 is a story of redemption. God redeeming Israel out of Egypt.
And God’s redemptive agenda is always puzzling. You and I would not have done it this way. But here we are. Israel was in a predicament because they followed the shepherd.
We read in Psalm 23:1 that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That He makes me lie down in green pastures. But Israel could not lie down. Their fear was off the charts.
Yet the Bible goes on and says in Psalm 23:2, “He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” And therein lies the tension.
We read Psalm 23, and then we look at our lives and think, “Okay, this is full of tension because what I read and what I’m experiencing are two different things.”
But we have this incredible shepherd who knows far more than we do, and we are relying on him to administer our lives in a particular way. Now we say that, but then we don’t like some of the ways that he administers our lives.
But we must live in faith. Which means, as mysterious as it can be and as much as we’re going to struggle, it’s the providence of God and our faith in Him that helps us during difficult and challenging situations.
TEST OF FAITH TO SONG OF PRAISE
Now, Exodus 14 makes no sense at first. At first. But isn’t God always testing our faith? I would dare say He’s testing our faith every day. Moving us to live by faith and not by sight.
And when we get to Exodus 15, what do we find? It’s the song of Moses. Moses writes a song of praise because of the victory they’ve just experienced.
What is Psalm 23? It is really a psalm of praise. After David has gone through one of the most challenging times of his life.
In our own lives, we love the praise part. It’s the pain that’s not so attractive to us.
What’s your Red Sea today? Whatever it is, you’re there because God led you there. So even when it’s hard, and even when you don’t understand, follow your Shepherd.
About the Author Mike Henderson
I am Mike Henderson, speaker, author, husband of my best friend, proud father of 5, and grandfather of 6. I like to hike with my wife, golf with my kids, travel, read books, and start new projects. My purpose for this blog is to help you and to give you hope.
