ƒ_oThe Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soulƒ_݃__

Green pasturesƒ_Ýstill watersƒ_Ýsandy beachesƒ_Ýmountainsƒ_Ýforestsƒ_Ýtime with familyƒ_Ýfriendsƒ_ÝGodƒ_Ýthatƒ_Ts what summer is for. Soul restoration.

This website, our church bulletin and summer brochure are full of enough activities and events to keep all of us busy all summerƒ_"but, I want to stop for a moment and say: please donƒ_Tt do it all! Donƒ_Tt sign up for everything. Donƒ_Tt offer to volunteer too much!

Do whatƒ_Ts good for you and your family. Let your kids enjoy the fun stuff. Take some time for yourself while theyƒ_Tre occupied. Help out when you feel led. And pleaseƒ_"if you do nothing else this summerƒ_"please take some time to rest and allow God to rejuvenate your life.

One of my favorite books is Phillip Kellerƒ_Ts A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23. The third chapter focuses on the verse: ƒ_oHe makes me to lie down in green pastures.ƒ__ Sheep donƒ_Tt lie down much. They remind me of how our culture is beginning to look ƒ_" I think we are the busiest people on earth. We fill up our time with so much work, entertainment, and social obligations that articles are appearing everywhere about how sleep deprived weƒ_Tve become.

ƒ_oHe makes me lie downƒ_݃__ The psalmist is talking about sheep and a shepherd who has to force his flock to stop and lie down for awhile. Heƒ_Ts also talking about his God, the Great Shepherd, who knows that we, His flock, sometimes need to be led to green pastures and still waters, and forced to rest.

When I first read Psalm 23, I pictured sheep frolicking around in lush, green, pastoral settings. What I didnƒ_Tt know until I studied a bit was that in Palestine, where this psalm was written, the terrain is dry and brown. Green pastures were hard to come by. Tremendous toil, careful planting and watering and crop care produced the green pastures sheep needed, but it took great diligence and labor on the part of the shepherd.

According to Phillip Keller, sheep are hard to settle. Their very make-up, he says, makes it almost impossible for them to lie down unless four requirements are met:

ƒ_› They need to be free of fear
ƒ_› They need to be free from friction with others of their kind
ƒ_› They need to be free of pests like flies and parasites
ƒ_› They need to be well fed, free of hunger

I donƒ_Tt think itƒ_Ts too hard to see how that relates to us. I know I have a hard time being calm and receptive to the Lord when Iƒ_Tm fearfulƒ_Ýor when Iƒ_Tm struggling over relationships that need mendingƒ_Ý or when Iƒ_Tm bugged by the little things that hassle our lives and keep us swatting at gnats when weƒ_Tre sure we should be out slaying giants.

And of course, I of all people know that if Iƒ_Tm hungry I get totally preoccupied with where my next meal is coming from and canƒ_Tt think straight. But even more importantly, if Iƒ_Tm spiritually hungry, and donƒ_Tt take time to allow the Lord to fill that need, then Iƒ_Tm not much good for anything at all.

Green pastures are essential for sheep. Keller writes, ƒ_oThere is no substitute for good pasturage. No sight so satisfies the sheep owner as to see his flock well and quietly fed to repletion on rich green forage, able to lie down to rest, ruminate, and gain.ƒ__

As a pastor, I am a shepherd in service of the Good Shepherd. I can relate to what Keller wrote. Nothing would make my heart gladder to than to know that members of our flock at Maranatha Chapel are taking time this summer to find those green pastures, and to enjoy Godƒ_Ts creation. I pray that you will carve whatever time you can to lie in the sand on the beach, to enjoy the beauty of the mountains, forests, and fields. To rest and rejuvenate and be with family and people you love.

I know we all have responsibilities; the need to work and pay bills and feed our families doesnƒ_Tt stop with summer time. But I earnestly encourage you to deliberately, intentionally and even if it is with great effort, allow time to let the Good Shepherd lead you to green pasturesƒ_"even if just for a few days.

God strengthens us in battle, gives us encouragement in times of grief and sorrow, meets our needs when we despair, gives us our daily bread to carry on our lives. But He also requires us to take a vacation from the world on occasion. He set the example when He initiated the first Sabbath: ƒ_oAnd on the seventh day God ended His workƒ_Ýand He restedƒ__ (Genesis 2:2).

Did God really need the rest? I think He is demonstrating our need to stop, rest, and allow His Holy Sprit to minister to our souls. Time apart from our usual labor and routine gives us the chance to receive what Godƒ_Ts Spirit wants to give us: peace, calm, quietness and the restoration our souls so desperately need.


Thereƒ_Ts some pretty barren, dry land out there. We fight thorns and thistles and hard ground every day. The Shepherd is inviting each of us to follow Him to green pastures, rich, luxuriant, filled with life-giving, satisfying nourishment and rest. I pray that by the end of summer, you can say, with the psalmist, ƒ_oHe restores my soul.ƒ__

God bless you,
Pastor Ray