Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
A well-known picture of God as our Shepherd and healer is articulated in the beautiful Psalm 23. It was written by David, a shepherd who saw the Lord as his Shepherd. Take a moment and read the psalm for yourself in your Bible.
When you see the Lord as your Shepherd, you will not lack. Whatever needs you have, you will not lack because your Good Shepherd provides.
You don’t have to run yourself ragged trying to take care of everything and live as though you have no God. Whatever problems you are faced with, stay close to the Shepherd and allow Him to provide for you.
And did you notice the first thing the Shepherd does? The psalmist wrote, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23:2)
When you allow Him to be your Good Shepherd, He will bring you to green pastures and make you lie down. You can rest, for He will provide for you. He will lead you beside still waters where you can drink and be refreshed. The Hebrew word for ‘still’ is manuka, which means ‘rest.’ He wants you to rest in the victory He has already won at the cross.
It is not by coincidence that many of Jesus’ healing miracles took place on the Sabbath. He healed a man with a withered hand (Matthew 12:10–13), a woman bowed down for eighteen years (Luke 13:10–13), a man with dropsy (Luke 14:2–4), and another man with a thirty-eight-year infirmity at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2–9), all on the Sabbath.
God told His people to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest (Exodus 20:8–11). When we rest, God still works. I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford not to have God working in every area in my life!
Maybe you or your loved ones are dealing with some major problems at present. Allow me to explain that ‘rest’ is not inactivity; it is Spirit-directed activity where you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in what to do, and you do it without worrying because you know God is in control.
Do you want to know the result of allowing the Lord to give us rest? Let me show you what King Solomon said:
1 Kings 5:4 “But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.”
Don’t you love that? I pray that you will experience that in Jesus’ name – to come to a place where there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence in your life – where God has given you rest on every side.