It Starts Small

Stress….. ugh! What could I be stressing over? I may be homeless in 17 days. I need to come up with the funding to get more mechanical work done on the truck. I have to drive to Cheyenne this weekend. I need to get my new driver’s license before it expires. My kids are coming next weekend. My cupboards are empty and I have to go shopping at some point this next week. God has spoken and revealed things, but am I leaning on my self in understanding or am I truly hearing what he has spoken? I’m training “kids” to cook and unfortunately their frontal lobes have not attached so teaching them to prioritize and do more than one thing at once is like giving a cat a bath. Do I take that job promotion? March 20 is such a beautiful and amazing day to celebrate, but I know I’ll be the only one celebrating. How do I deal with the sadness and just be thankful? What will come tomorrow? What comes 10 years from now? Am I doing everything God has asked me? Who do I call about the hot water heater? Does it just need flushed or replaced? Are these things ever going to be right? Stress… stress… stress…

Did you know sheep are predictable? They are up early in the morning. They spend all morning grazing. When the sun is at it hottest, they naturally lay down for hours. While laying down, this is when they, Grow the most. They just lay their chewing their cud. This is when they put weight on.

Gods wants us to learn how to lay down in green pastures and drink from still waters.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2

I admit I envied our goats. They had everything they could possibly want. They wanted for nothing. They had love, affection, food, shelter, and things to play on. My most favorite moments were when I’d go sit with them. They’d all pile around me and lay next to me. Sometimes, Swiss felt the need to think she was a baby and stand on my shoulders, but it was really special when little Duck would lay on my lap. Just happy as could be she would chew her cud and eventually fall asleep. She trusted me enough to make herself vulnerable and fall asleep knowing she was safe with me.

We are all like sheep. Sheep do not have a good reputation, for good reason. They’re dumb. They’re blind. They’re deaf. They wander. They’re so dumb that half the time ewes don’t even know their own lambs. If you’ve ever watched ewes during lambing season, you know what I’m taking about. A pregnant ewe will actually try to go steal another ewe’s lambs thinking they are hers. Sheep have very irrational thought processes. We’ve all seen the video of a sheep stuck in a hole. They rescue it and the dumb animal falls right back into the hole. (Oh I could write about all the times Jesus got me out of trouble, and I just walked right back into trouble)

Sheep are overloaded with dumbness. Spiritually, we are dumb like sheep. Sheep are completely defenseless. Goats have horns. Lions have claws. Wolves have teeth. Sheep are like a bunch of giant cotton balls running around on tiny stick legs. Yeah, they have nothing to defend these selves with. They have to have someone defend them at all times. Sheep have no sense of direction and easily get lost. She have to be herded. They don’t just follow instinct. They just do whatever on a whim. When they are herded, it never fails that when they get to the gate, they scatter in nine directions. They’re so dumb, they can’t even get through the gate without help.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

It’s no wonder we are likened to sheep. We are spiritually dead, dumb, blind, and wander astray. We are so lost at times we can’t even find our way home.

And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him. Hosea 11:7

Like sheep, we have this natural tendency to get away from God. Like sheep, we need to have someone constantly taking care of us. Leading us. Speaking to us. Sheep who fall down and manage to find themselves on their backs are in dire trouble. They call it casting. Sheep can’t roll themselves over. We get ourselves stuck in the “cast” position and we need Jesus to come put us back on our feet. When sheep cast, they cause their insides to get tangled while struggling endlessly to try and roll over. It causes rolled intestines and stomaches. This cast position is better known as stress to us. When we stress we become defenseless, deaf, blind, and stupid. Stress causes our bodies to roll and become tangled on the inside: digestive issues, heart burn, not to mention how it tangles our minds with anxiety and fear.

How do we stay on our feet?

First, we have to completely trust and rely on our Shepherd, Jesus. We need to know, believe and trust that we are completely secured and protected by Jesus.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2

Jesus makes us and leads us.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:36

Jesus saw the people. The people were spiritually lost, weary, and upside down. They needed a shepherd. He was moved with compassion. Compassion means: “come” with and “passion” feeling or suffering. He understood people needed a shepherd.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11

Jesus feeds us. Jesus gathers us up into his arms. Jesus carries me in his heart. Jesus leads me. Jesus doesn’t yank us by our collar or by the ear. He doesn’t yell and scream at us. He speaks softly. He gently carries us. If you’ve ever been a parent, you know what it means to gently carry something. If you’ve ever held a baby anything you, know what it means to gently carry something. I loved our newest baby goats. They were so small and helpless. I loved to just hold them close under my chin and let them fall asleep. I think Jesus carries us just like that. With loving arms and all the while he speaks softly to us how much he loves us and how wonderful we are.

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. John 10:11

Jesus courageously protects us. He gave his life for us so we could have life. My husband tells a story of getting firewood one morning as a young boy. As he walked to the house his dad told him to run. He dropped his firewood and took off running to the house. He had a mountain lion stalking him from behind. Dropping the firewood spooked the mountain lion and it took off. Jesus is like that for us! when satan temps our flesh he tells us to run to the porch. When Satan disguises himself under his lies and tells us we are garbage, no one loves you, and you’re worthless, Jesus speaks tenderly that we are someone to him. We are loved by him. We are cared for by him. When satan wears sheep clothing and tries to lure us away with false doctrine, lies, deception, and manipulation, Jesus is there to cast his spot light on satan and to put a bullet between his eyes. (Ok that’s a bit graphic, but if you’ve ever had to deal with coyotes, you understand the reference). Jesus steps in and protects us. He fights for us. He never leaves us!

Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. John 10:7

No one! No one can get to me except through Christ! He lays at the gate or door and no one can get to me unless they get through him first. Jesus not only protects, he provides.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2

Not brown withered grass or muddy and dried up streams. Jesus says green lush healthy grass and abundant still cool waters. All we need is found in Jesus.

We stress because of our unbelief. Our unbelief says my needs are not going to be met. Matthew 6:25-31, Jesus says don’t worry about what you’re going to eat, or wear, or about tomorrow.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:32

When we seek the Kingdom of Heaven we don’t have to worry about our needs, because they’re going to be met!

Green pastures is the word of God and still waters is the spirit of Jesus. Our deepest needs are met through the green pastures and still waters. God’s word is bread for my starving spirit (Matthew 4:4). My spiritual hunger and thirst is fulfilled by the green pastures and still water (Matthew 5:4).

Jesus says happy are those who seek his righteousness. The most unhappy people are those who seek happiness. They will never find it because they are not content in their spirit. Happiness is the byproduct of righteousness. Unhappiness is the byproduct of sin.

Unhappiness is God’s design. It’s a symptom that we are not living right. There is sin in our lives. Problems in our lives tell us there’s something wrong. We fail to cure the infection of sin when deny the root of it. Green pastures and still waters are the cure to what ail us.

Finally, serenity.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2

Sheep will not lie down until they are content. We need to learn to lay down, meaning we need to take time to slow down. We need to be still and know God is God.

For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. Isaiah 30:15

Quietness and confidence shall be our strength when we lay down in His green pastures. As we take time to study his word, he fills us with truth. That truth brings a quietness, peacefulness to our heart, and a confidence that he is in complete control. You don’t have to worry about anything because he is GOD.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

When we spend the morning hours grazing on the Word of God, he leads us to lie down comfortably in his pasture. His word is our contentment. We can lay down and rest knowing His great shepherd is keep watch over us while we rest. While resting we “goat” up his word. We chew on it, swallow it, and bring it back up. It’s how we grow. Remember at the start I wrote when sheep finally lay down, this is when they grow the most. We grow the most while lying down.

When we lie down we meditate upon the word of God. Instead of meditating on truth, we meditate on the things we stress over. Jesus said he has come to give us life so that we can live abundantly. We are going to miss out on life is we don’t learn to lie down and chew the cud.

That opening paragraph is what I could stress over, but today I’ll just lie down in his pasture, let God be God and focus on the morning that is coming and the joy and delight to fill up on more green grass.