It Starts Small

Here in the western part of the world, it’s challenging to find anyone who can take life slowly. We tend to focus on staying busy, working hard (sometimes to the extreme), managing our spinning plates, and finding the perfect work-life balance. Some days go by in such a blur we have a hard time catching a breath. God offers us a chance to slow all that down. God offers us perfect balance between working hard and resting.

The still waters we read about in Psalm 23:2 are not swift-moving rivers or even little streams, but a shallow, quiet trickle of water gently flowing along. Maybe you know of a small creek near your home or have seen one in a park somewhere. It’s not a deep creek, rather ankle-high at most– the flow is slow, and bubbling of the water is amazingly soothing.

It is a place where you can breathe deeply and take in the sounds of nature. This is the type of still waters David is talking about. A shepherd would never lead his sheep to a rapidly flowing river. It would be too dangerous and loud causing the sheep to be frightened.

God does not want this for us. He longs to give us peace, rest, and repose, so He takes us to where the water is pure, clear, and almost motionless so we can refresh ourselves in Him. It is a place where we can slow down, be quiet and still with Him, and experience His deep, pure love intimately.

Because the water is so calm, we can even step into the Living Water and wade around a little fully immersing ourselves in His grace and quenching our thirst. His invitation to drink of His peace is found in Isaiah 55:1 which says:

“Come, everyone who is thirsty,
come to the water;
and you without silver,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without silver and without cost!

Isaiah 55:1

He reminds us of this in Revelation 7:17:

For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will shepherd them;
he will guide them to springs of the waters of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17

We can not experience the serene power of the still waters or satisfy our thirst when we only focus on our daily schedules and busyness. We must actively seek Him every day so He can lead us to a continual place of rest and prepare us for His kingdom’s work.

Further, sheep will not instinctively seek out clean water—they are prone to drinking whatever is nearby. Therefore, a good shepherd leads his sheep to calm, clean water. When we choose to satisfy our thirst with the world, we choose to poison ourselves. The world can not offer us the clean refreshing and renewing water of Jesus. Jesus is our only satisfaction.

Thought to ponder:

How does God lead you to “quiet waters” in your life?