David tells us he is wholly at rest because the Lord is looking after him. As a proverb tells us, ‘A heart at peace gives life to the body…’ (Proverbs 14:30). How will we find this restfulness that spreads through our whole being? David explains his confidence with pictures from his shepherd days.
Lying down in green pastures, for sheep, must mean they’ve eaten all they can and now it’s time to sleep—and still there’s plenty around to eat. It’s sounds idyllic. And being led alongside of restful waters sounds wonderful. Is David saying, ‘My life is a breeze. Trusting the Lord is like a perpetual holiday’?
This is hardly David’s experience. He is well acquainted with intrigue and war, disputes and family discontent. He’s also acquainted with public personal failure and facing God’s discipline. But he anticipates the future with quiet assurance of God’s leading and restoration—restoration of his soul—that is, deep and personal.
Clearly, it is not his circumstances or performance that secures him. Rather, it is the Lord being his Shepherd that makes the difference.
The world is making an industry out of offering tranquility, happiness and confidence, and the market is huge. It can become a means of controlling us. It’s important to go to the right place. So, what does David tell us?
A shepherd knows where to find good feed and leads his flock there. That’s what David knows the Lord has done for him. His food is what God says and what God has done for him. In one of his songs he tells us, ‘Lord, you have assigned me my portion…you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance’ (Psalm 16:5-6).
He’s basing his confidence on things God has already done for Israel—like leading them to ‘holy pasture’ (Exodus 15:11-13), and seeking a resting place for them (Numbers 10:33). He remembers the promises made to him (2 Samuel 7:10-16). He doesn’t know how this may work out but he knows the Lord is going to take him on paths where everything will be looked after.
And if his personal life is shattered and his mind in disarray and his prayers all over the place, he knows the Lord will restore his soul to its proper state again—at peace before his Maker.
The renewal and refreshment we sorely need can only come by the Lord speaking to us, telling us we are forgiven and that we belong to him, that he is involving us in his purposes and taking us to his goal.
Life makes many demands on us. We talk about being ‘dry’ or ‘worn out’. And the Lord comes to David and ‘restores his soul’. David is not just a body, or an ambition. Nor is he just an intellect that can be satisfied by pleasant ideas. He is a creature made in God’s image who only God can satisfy. David says this revelation, and the providences fulfilling these promises, restore his soul. He’s ‘up and running’ again.
Having real peace of mind has everything to do with hearing what God is saying to us. It can’t be guaranteed by happy circumstances. This world changes so quickly. God’s word is eternal, and sure. And this is what we really need.
This is how Jesus goes about being the good Shepherd (John 10:11). On one occasion he sees a large crowd and has compassion on them, ‘because they were like sheep without a shepherd’. So, he begins to teach them (Mark 6:34). After that, he does feed them—miraculously—but that is not the refreshment he has come to give. He tells the crowds to work for ‘food that endures for eternal life’ (John 6:27).
He also tells the crowd that the food he has to give them is his body (John 6:54-58). Until we know Jesus offers himself up for us, we will always be restless.
We may be looking in the wrong place for tranquility, or peace, or assurance, or confidence. We think we will be alright when certain things change, or people treat us differently or the government provides for us. David isn’t thinking of that. Neither is Jesus.
Shepherding, or looking after people involves a lot of things, but basic to it all is letting them know what God is saying to them. Jesus says Peter must ‘feed my lambs’, ‘take care of my sheep’ and ‘feed my sheep’ (John 20:15-19). He must tell the great things God has done in Jesus Christ.
And we need to do the same now. Everyone needs to hear Jesus say, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…your will find rest for your souls’ (Matthew 11:28-30). What we really need is the Lord as our Shepherd.
All of us Christians need to bathe ourselves in God’s revelation—his Bible. There are treasures here to be known, received, enjoyed, shared and trusted. It works!
Many of us have spent weeks, or longer, waiting for some circumstance to change. And then, we hear God speak to us, and everything is changed. We are sure our life is being attended, cared for, given purpose and a future. And strangely, we are deeply contented. We begin to move forward with purpose and joy.
Soak yourself in the gospel that God has given us in Jesus Christ, and your soul will be refreshed. Only the truth of Jesus Christ is sufficient to restore your soul.
Simply True 