Tag: psalm23

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing, He makes me lie down in green pastures, …” – Psalm 23.

A good shepherd looks out for his sheep. The sheep know and follow his voice. A good shepherd goes after the one that looses its way, he leaves the 99 and searches until he finds that one lost sheep and returns to the fold. A good shepherd looks for the green pasture, the tuft of grass like the one pictured above, for the sheep to graze upon.

Back in David’s day, the green pastures aren’t the lush green pastures we think of. David was in the desert of Israel, green was far and few between. So the shepherds had to look and lead the sheep to the green pastures, the tufts of grass in the desert.

So it is with Jesus. He is our good Shepherd. He is going before us each day clearing the path for us and leading us to green pastures. He has cleared the path to the greenest pasture, Heaven.

1 Timothy 2:4 – “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” God desires that all men be saved, to come to know Him, Truth. And so He made a way. He created us to have a relationship with Him but sin entered the world and that relationship was broken. So God sent His Son Jesus to pay sin’s penalty. It was Jesus sacrificing His life for us that paves our way to Heaven. Not our works, not our deeds, nothing of ourselves can get us into Heaven but accepting the blood of Jesus. We must choose. We must choose to hear His voice, we must choose to follow HIs voice, we must choose Him to enter our hearts.

John 10: 2 – ” The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.” John 10:9 – ““I am the Gate for the sheep,”

So even today this very moment, Jesus has not only paved the way to Heaven, which we could never do ourselves, each day He is leading us to green pastures. You may be in a difficult situation and wondering where that green pasture is. It’s there, it may not be what you think it should look like. In our own personal deserts there are green pastures. It may not be the lush green grassy field you are thinking of. It could something small and simple, unexpected. Maybe it’s just a verse from God’s word for you to cling to. Or perhaps it is a song in your heart. Maybe it’s just a text from a friend saying they are thinking of you. Maybe it’s a happy memory God gives to carry you through the day. Maybe it’s just ten minutes to savor between appointments. God gives us what we need. Its not always what we think we need. It can be hard to recognize the green pastures. Listen for his voice, follow Him.

For further reading: John 10:1-8, 1 Timothy 2:1-6

More resources: Israelu.org, Dave Adamson