Green Pastures

Psalm 23:1 and 2 read, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ..."

I am part of a ladies' Bible study at our church. In reference to the verses above, our teacher made the observation that she'd heard that sheep only lie down when they are full. I looked it up and, guess what—she was right. They might lie down at other times, but by and large sheep mostly lie down when they are sated. What does that mean for us? Our Good Shepherd makes it His duty to make sure His sheep have all their needs met. That is definitely something to shout about! But this comforting thought led me down another trail.

Even as a child, I had been aware that the green pastures referenced in verse two of Psalm 23 meant that the Lord, our Good Shepherd, always provides good, nutritional food for us. He meets our needs. Now, thanks to my teacher's input, I realized this truth was highlighted even more by the fact that it is sated sheep that lie down. What I had never thought to consider, though, was the destructive nature of sheep. How could sheep that had eaten to the point of being sated be lying down in pastures that were still green and not totally devoured?

Back in the late 1800s through the early 1900s, the American West was plagued by Range Wars. What fueled these conflicts? Among other things, cattlemen resented the intrusion of destructive sheep. Nice, polite cattle gentilly grazed only on the top of of the fields and then moved on. Not so the stupid sheep. They (sigh—that would be us) eat without restraint, devouring not only the top of the grass but also the very roots, leaving the field where they grazed looking like a war zone, totally unfit for further consumption by any other animal and in such an uprooted state that the poor grass is left without the wherewithal to grow back.

How is it, then, that the Good Shepherd leads His sheep to lie down in "green" pastures? If the sheep gorge themselves to such a degree that they actually lie down, how can the pasture still be green? They are stupidly destructive. They eat to the point of tearing the grass out by the roots. That is when they are sated. The two facts (sated but in green pastures) seem contradictory—which, of course, made me curious.

Sure enough, I discovered why it is possible for the sated sheep to be lying down on green pastures. It has everything to do with their shepherd. A good shepherd is one who actively and carefully manages the feeding of the sheep. He keeps an eye on them and when he sees that they have gotten the grass nibbled down to a certain length, instead of just resting on his laurels, he moves his sheep on to another pasture so that the one they were in doesn't become totally ravaged and left unable to regrow. The green pasture, as well as the goodness of the shepherd, both hinge on good management!

All of a sudden the adjective "green" took on a whole new meaning. It no longer merely referenced the fact that the Good Shepherd provides for His flock's wants. Because we have a Good Shepherd, our lives are managed by a Divine Hand. The Lord might give us plenty at a given time in our life, keeping us in luxuriously green pastures, but He will move us on before we are "finished" —for our good!

Sometimes such prodding is met with resistance on our part. Why move? Our pasture has been good grazing ground. We have been satisfied here. Sated sheep that we are, we do not want to move! But, being the Good Shepherd that He is, our loving Savior knows that if we were to stay here in this same place, we would end up with a ravaged, a damaged, environment/life. Because of His love and care for us, for our own good He needs to move us to a new place.

The Bible is replete with accounts of God's sheep that were herded to new pastures. Jacob had to leave his father's house for many years—and in his exile found a family and his own personal relationship with God. Joseph was cruelly treated and sold out of his father's house to Egypt—and became the second in that country only to Pharaoh, saving the lives not only of many in Egypt, but also his father's household, from whom would come the Savior of the world. Ruth moved from her home country of Moab to Israel, leaving all that she knew behind—and became the great-grandmother of King David, he of the lineage of Jesus.

Of course, while we are actually living those painful chapters in our life, we don't always understand the why. With our human myopic vision we can't see the future nor all the eternal ramifications. But because our Shepherd is good, we can rest assured that His management has our best interests in mind. Anywhere He leads is for our ultimate good.

You don't like this new place, you say? Have you ever heard the phrase, "Trust the process?" As sheep of the Good Shepherd, our version of that motto should be, "Trust the Shepherd." In His time, you will understand.

So go lie down and set a spell. Praise Him for where you are. Your pasture is only going to get greener!

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 3:18).

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11).