“He makes me to lie down
in green pastures;
He leads me beside
the still waters.
He restores my soul;”
(Psalm 23:2 – 3)
“Green pastures” – plentiful grass
“Still waters” – more than enough
To drink
“He restores my SOUL”…
“Now may the God of peace Himself
sanctify you completely;
and may your whole spirit, soul, and body
be preserved blameless at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:23)
The apostle Paul decribes us as being
Made up of three parts:
Spirit, Soul and Body
Our body is the physical part of us
The part that we SEE, day by day
“God is Spirit,
and those who worship Him
must worship in spirit and truth.””
(John 4:24)
Our spirit is the part of us that
Relates directly with God
Since He is a Spirit
“Then God said,
“Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness” “
(Genesis 1:26)
God is Spirit
And we are made in His likeness
When we come to believe in Jesus
And are born again…
We receive the Holy Spirit
Into our spirit and…
“as He is, so are we in this world”
(1 John 4:17)
Our born again spirit
Is identical to Jesus…
Our soul then, is the part of us
Which includes our mind, emotions
Personality, will… to name a few
In a way it should be of no great surprise
That we are made up of three parts…
Since we are made in the likeness of God
And He presents Himself to us as being
One God yet three “persons”:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit…
So when King David said:
“He makes me to lie down
in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;”
(Psalm 23:2 – 3)
He was talking about how God
Helped him in the midst of
What was going on around him
And within him…
As you read this…
You may be sitting
In a comfortable chair
Relaxing and taking time to read…
There may also be things
On your mind which you have
Put “to the back of your mind”
So that you can concentrate
And read this…
We all have the capacity to do this…
But if I mention what “that” may be:
A meeting with your boss…
A difficult situation you are going into…
Meeting with some people who may
Be antagonistic towards you…
An impending operation
Either for yourself or for someone
You love…
And the list can go on and on…
You ARE still sitting in that
Comfortable chair,
Reading this…
You haven’t MOVED…
And yet if I have caused you
To think about that “thing”
That you had relegated to the
“Back of your mind”
You may now be feeling anxious
Or worrying about “that thing”
And yet…you are still…
Sitting in a comfortable chair
READING this…
This is your SOUL…
Where these feelings and thoughts
LIVE…
And King David said:
“He makes me to lie down
in green pastures;
He leads me beside
the still waters.
He restores my soul;”
(Psalm 23:2 – 3)
The “green pastures” do provide
The sheep with FOOD…
And the “still waters” do
Provide drinking water…
Which both help to “restore my soul”
But they also provide a place
Of rest and quietness
Security and contentment
A bit like your comfortable chair…
Where God can restore your SOUL…
You see, sometimes, your body
May be screaming at you…
Aches and Pains and the like…
Or your “eyes” can see
Your enemies gathered around you
As was the case for King David
Yet the Lord leads you into
A place of “green pastures”
And beside “still waters”
In order to bring peace
In the midst of your troubles
So that you can relate to Him
In your spirit…
And He can minister to you…
So that like King David you can say:
“He restores my soul”