When I was a little girl on our farm back in Maryland, we had cows and horses and chickens… but we also had sheep. Actually, one sheep and his name was Bucky (why we didn’t have more than one sheep, I don’t know)… maybe it was because Bucky was more of a pet than a farm animal from which we got milk or wool or whatever. Bucky was a good old sheep (but you had to be careful not to bend over, or he’d paw the dirt and snort and butt you in the backside). Anyway, I remember watching Bucky wander into the barn, amble over to a bunch of hay, and plop right down in the sunshine. It was his favorite spot and he’d lie there looking so comfortable, so relaxed, so happy, just chewin’ (what I guess was his cud, I don’t know). But he was a content sheep lying there.
I occasionally think of Bucky when I read that verse in the 23rd Psalm that goes, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul.” Whenever I read that part about lying down I get an immediate clear picture of Bucky lowering his head, slowly buckling his knees, and plopping down in the hay or in the pasture with a “Hummph.” It’s a picture of comfort and relaxation; such a happy sheep he was!
And, oh, that I were like Bucky! I am so much – I am too often – the sheep-on-the-go. I’m out to explore the next pasture, I want to push against the unopened gate, I want to go down the path untrodden, I want to duck under the fence that’s blocking the way… prone to wander, Lord I feel it, just like a head-strong sheep. And, like a sheep, I'm so dumb, I don’t know when to stop. I don’t know when to make time to rest. And so what does the Good Shepherd do? Well, in my case, He maketh me to lie down; He forces, He compels, He has to almost put both hands on me to pressure me to lie down. It happens when I get a cold, or the flu, or I have to get out of my wheelchair and be in bed because of a pressure sore or pain. I wouldn’t exactly call it “green pasture,” but after awhile, it’s clear why God has put the pressure on. It’s that I might find comfort and contentment in Him. It’s that my soul might be restored.
It is a fast-paced world… and, look, for some reason it’s even part of our Christian culture. We don’t need to be pushing against an unopened gate or us Christians wandering down the untrodden path or pushing the limits to hurdle high or finagle under every fence in front of us. You and I need grace. We need wisdom. And maybe, maybe we need the spiritual sensibilities to know when to follow the shepherd and lower our heads, buckle our knees, and plop down to rest – yes, physically, but mainly spiritually – and rest in the arms of the Good Shepherd… rest before He compels, He pressures, or He makes you to lie down.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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