NorthStar Community - Celebrating Recovery, Relationships and Renewal

Week 3 - Day 1

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23

He makes me lie down in green pastures, NIV
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
The Message

I lived in several cities growing up; my favorite home was in Roanoke, Virginia. I loved riding my bike up my street and staring right into the face of a small mountain. I visited my old home place recently – and, boy, has it changed! They cut down the woods and added house upon house. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot…” to steal from a song with a very catchy tune! The homes had aged a lot, too – of course, so have I, so how can I complain? This I can complain about: they took away the meadow.

If we walked over a few streets, up a hill, through a couple of neighbor’s yards, we’d find ourselves in a lush, hilly meadow. It was great for sledding on a snowy day. In the spring, it was populated solely with wildflowers – yellow ones. It was a sight to behold! It was amazing! It was a field of wonder and delight. My brothers and I would traverse quite a distance to romp in that field. Nothing could compare to a warm spring day in the meadow. We’d lie on our backs with our hands crossed behind our heads and stare at the Carolina blue sky and the oddly shaped clouds. It was without question the most peaceful time of my childhood. Regularly we “saw things” in the clouds and dreamed big dreams.

I can’t tell you the last time I noticed a cloud; I haven’t seen a decent meadow in years. “He makes me lie down in green pastures…” has tickled my memory of peace, wonder, and delight. I delight in every word of this phrase – He, God, - makes, compels, commands, arranges and provides – for me personally – to lie down, rest, recline, relax – in green pastures – beautiful, lush, sweet, warm, restful, nourishing, inviting, playful pastures.

When was the last time you noticed a cloud formation and saw a castle? Did you have the time to watch it drift pass you, into the future? Can you find the nearest meadow in your community? Have you had a beautiful daydream this week? Listen for the voice of God today, calling out to you, wooing you – speaking His heart to yours. Can you hear Him? I want you to take some time and find a quiet place to relax, recline, and dream big dreams. I want you to notice my hand in your world – the color of the sunset, the majesty of the clouds, the blue of the sky, the beauty of the land…Come away with me, and I will give you rest…Find time today to follow the good shepherd into a field of rest, hope and dreams.

Back in the days of my meadow-dwelling life I believed it was my secret garden and that God made it as a secret gift just for my brothers and me. I was right. Have you found God’s secret gift of rest made just for you?

Week 3 - Day 2

He makes me lie down in green pastures, NIV
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
The Message

The Lord is my shepherd…He makes me lie down in green pastures. How cool would it be if you were a sheep to have a green pasture to eat, play, and rest in? The author of the twenty-third Psalm was David. In case you’ve forgotten, he was a shepherd. While his brothers were off fighting wars, Dave was tending the sheep. It was the skill of this young shepherd boy that brought down Goliath the Giant. His brothers and their army were standing around wondering what to do, and up ran David with his trusty slingshot and took care of business – down came Goliath. David was well-versed in the life of both sheep and shepherds. In short, David got it.

David lived in a land of rocky inclines, crags, and dust. He and his sheep usually looked long and hard for tufts of grass. So imagine the delight of David when he came across a green pasture. Finally! David could relax. As long as he kept the sheep from nibbling all the way to a cliff and carelessly tumbling to their death, all would be fine. He probably was able to plop down on the soft carpet of green. The sun shone brightly, warming his back and the top of his head. He could whip out his trusty flute; the melodious tunes would calm the sheep – further ensuring David’s respite from rescuing wayward sheep. The sheep, gregarious by nature would not only eat to full, they could frolic a bit too - in short, an ideal day for a shepherd and his flock.

Where is your green pasture? How do you whip out your proverbial flute? What has to happen in order for you to have enough time to let the warm sun caress the top of your head? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, or if you do, but haven’t experienced this rest for a long, long time – something is wrong. Ask God to reveal to you His provisions for your rest. Ask Him for the courage to seize the opportunity. Now, as the Nike people like to remind us – “Just Do It”.

Week 3 - Day 3

He makes me lie down in green pastures, NIV
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
The Message

Jesus concurred with David.

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”* (Matthew 6:25-33 The Message)

Oh how I long for all of us to believe Jesus. He came to give us rest. Specifically, he came to give you rest. Another one of my favorite scriptures is this – “The work of God is this: to believe in the One he has sent.” (John 6:29 NIV) Let’s practice our believing and get some rest. (I believe this is biblical support for a nap!)

* Peterson, E. H. 2003. The Message : The Bible in contemporary language . NavPress: Colorado Springs, Colo.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, NIV
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
The Message

Let me tell you a story. I had a kid who would wake up in the middle of the night filled with terror. He would scream and carry on for about two hours per night. This craziness went on for over a year. We tried everything. We couldn’t wake him. We couldn’t calm him. When we left him alone, he screamed alone. Finally, I decided that it didn’t matter what we did or did not do – this kid was going to cry. I chose to join him in his misery. Every night when he began to scream, either his dad or I would go to his room, hold him, and rock him gently. He still cried. But we were there for the sole purpose of making him lie down in a green pasture. He cried in the warmth of loving arms and the gentle motion of our well-worn rocking chair.

Some may argue with the wisdom of this parenting choice. It was hard on the parental units! But I will say this – he’s a pretty secure kid today. Eventually the time of terror decreased, and at some point, he slept. I remember the first night that he slept through the night - I kept getting up to see if he was breathing! I don’t think I was able to sleep through the night for a month after he was resting like a baby.

Unless my son is blessed with a child who provides him with the same opportunity he provided us, he may never know the blessing and the burden of his sleeplessness. I leave you with this thought. Do you appreciate the blessing and the burden associated with the gift of rest? God the Father and Jesus his son paid a price for our freedom to rest. We may not fully appreciate the price paid. But it would be a shame to waste the gift. My prayer for you is that you take advantage of this gift of rest. Enjoy!

He makes me lie down in green pastures, NIV
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
The Message

At one point in the midst of ministry, Jesus got aggravated with the unresponsiveness of people. According to Matthew 11, Jesus was teaching and the people just shrugged their shoulders and continued on with their busy, busy lives. Madder than one might expect from the sinless son of God, Jesus let loose with the crowd and then broke into prayer. Here’s what came next.

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen. Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:25-30 The Message)*

He makes me lie down in green pastures, NIV
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
The Message

A few weeks ago my husband and sons were watching football. They’re captivated by the sport. Truthfully, they’re captivated by all sports. Once I caught one of them watching women play pool on a sport’s channel. Personally, I think that’s extreme sport’s watching.

Most days I don’t care much one way or the other if they want to stare at a tv screen and call that father-son bonding. But on Sunday afternoons, I have a problem with this behavior. The reason Sunday afternoon viewing is so distasteful is because Sunday precedes Monday. On Mondays, a cleaning service shows up at our house. You know what that means, don’t you? We need to clean our house! I certainly don’t want someone coming into my house and getting the wrong impression!

My guys don’t understand my urge to run through the house picking up every stray shoe. They actually think this is strange behavior. As you can imagine, the disconnect between me and my guys has caused some…shall we say – conflict? This agitation continued unabated until a few weeks ago, when I had an epiphany.

Following one particularly heated exchange, a spark of understanding set off a chain reaction that resulted in what I can only describe as a God moment. I was huffing and puffing around the house in a state of unrighteous indignation and I came upon the gaze of one of my boys. We had just finished our after-church-family meal. During lunch we had been discussing the content of this devotional series. I suspect that the conclusion could have been drawn that I believe the following: I follow the good shepherd, I am coming to believe that I have everything I truly want, and that I accept the gift of rest. But my behavior was revealing a different truth, and my son’s gaze was calling me out – gently.

Perhaps you’re rushing through this devotional series, checking it off your list, noticing how simple and obvious the message. Here’s a pop quiz. Do you have someone calling you out with a gentle gaze? Ask the Lord to reveal any incongruence in how you’re following. Pay attention to the people around you -how they’re responding to you, and vice versa. If we can’t celebrate another person’s right to rest, then we’re probably not accepting God’s gift of rest intended for us.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, NIV
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
The Message

As we conclude this week , let’s not forget the first phrase of the Psalm: The Lord is my shepherd. It’s a bold statement. Without equivocation David is naming his Higher Power. As a Pastor, I listen to many people expound upon the reasons that they’re not quite ready to believe. I particularly appreciate those who come out and say it. Others may not be willing to admit their wobbly belief system, but their actions reveal their lack of confidence in full-throttled believing. (Much like I did with my willy nilly Sunday afternoon behavior.)

I would suggest to you that it is more restful, and in many ways easier, to believe boldly than to hedge your bets. For those who radically believe, they wake up every morning with fewer decisions to make than most. Radical belief requires loving others – including our enemies. When a desperately devoted follower is armed with this truth, they don’t have to mull over how to respond to someone who has dissed them. They don’t have to craft a clever, strategic response to one who has taken advantage of them. They don’t have to plot vengeance. All those options are eliminated from consideration simply because they choose to believe.

A hard core believer doesn’t have to wrestle with how they spend their money. They know they must spend less than they make so that they can be ready to help another in need. They don’t have to worry about how to juggle mounting debt, because they’re committed to reducing debt so that they will be free to give when God speaks.

One who has found their way back to God doesn’t have any qualms about sacrificing for his or her children, because they have a heavenly Father who has done just that for them. They know that they must disciple their children, love them, provide for them, teach them the ways of the Lord, and equip them to live large in the land the Lord has provided. They don’t have to debate about leaving their young ones unattended while they go out partying; they don’t have to debate whether to let their kid break the laws of underage drinking; they know to teach their kids to respect and obey their earthly authority.

The list goes on and on. I know that you’re thinking – “Easy for her to say!” And I grant you, the application of these principles takes a lot of practice and no small amount of divine intervention. But I promise you. Trust me. Regulating our own behavior is far easier than finding ourselves at the mercy of the justice system as a result of our own failure to self-regulate. It’s far easier to choose to eat wisely than it is to get off those twenty extra pounds of excess weight that showed up on our thighs after a season of indiscriminate eating and lazy living. It’s easier to work diligently to maintain a thriving marriage than to try to repair a devastated one. It’s easier to teach a child how to live responsibly (and enjoy the fruit of that labor in their teen years) than it is to try to harness a teen who has lived his or her life unchecked by parental authority.

As you conclude this week’s study, take a moment and consider what you can do proactively to follow your good shepherd. It’ll be far easier than having to back track later and find your way back to Him through the wreckage of independent living. Choose today to rest in him.