Peaceful Streams~

Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd; I have all that I need.

Verse Two: He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams.

Peaceful streams…

A couple of years ago I was the beach with my mother-in-law, and she and I were frolicking about like two young girls and not paying attention to the increasingly rough waters.  Suddenly, we were in the fight of our lives.  The waves and the current threatened to overtake us and we were swallowing water, but then we remembered the advice we had always heard: Swim parallel to the shore, which we did, and we made it safely back to the land. Amen!

We gagged and coughed and then laughed AFTER we were okay, but it was not a pleasant time.  Sometimes life is like that, isn’t it?  We are tossed back and forth, everything seems out of control, we feel like we might go under never to breathe again, but then we rise out of the problem and take in the fresh, life-giving air!

And we have God to thank for letting us rise and leading us to peaceful streams.  Not rough but not standing still either - just going along at an easy breezy calm pace.  In other words, God comes alongside and takes us to a place where there is just enough movement to flush the environment of our minds, bodies, and souls of toxins, but not so much that we can barely catch our breath. 

Before God leads, however, we must be willing to follow.  Is He worth following?

"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” John 10:11

Christ is trustworthy.  He gave His life for us.  To quote another verse found in Romans 8:32, “Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't He also give us everything else?”

He will, He will, He will!  But are willing to submit to Him? To ask for help? To seek guidance? To admit that we are nothing without Him and that He has sufficient power and love to see us through?

If we answer “yes” to all those questions, then we can confidently tell Him that we belong to Him, that we put ourselves in His care, and that we look forward to being lead to those peaceful streams.

In fact, you would think that my mother-in-law and I would have stayed on the sand, but as soon as the water calmed down, back in we went.  When you are in gently moving water, it’s refreshing and soothing.  The sound alone has put many a baby to sleep, including Jorge, and it’s a great place to be.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Take us all by the hand today and lead us to peaceful streams.  We need a break today.  We long to relax and enjoy our lives.  Thank You that You are the Good Shepherd.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~