The Ability of Jesus As Our Shepherd

Psalm 23:2
He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters.
The care and love that Jesus shows to his "sheep" is beyond my feeble brain's ability to comprehend such a heart.
He makes me lie down......He knows that left to my own will, I will expend myself on things that do not matter. I will fill up my life with useless activity that profits nothing. I will burn myself out worrying about things that are beyond my control. I guess this is where the serenity thing comes into play. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change." Jesus knows that I need rest, not just bodily but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. So from time to time, He MAKES me lie down. Even if for nothing else other than to give my brain and mind a rest. I think one of the first things I notice when Vicki and I go on vacation or just get away for a few days, is how my mind is rested and renewed. This, in turn, really brings about a change physically and emotionally. Rest is needed. Rest reconnects us to the Father when we physically and emotionally rest in Him. Psalm 46:10 - Be still, and know that I am God.....

But notice also in Ps.23:2 the shepherd picks out the best spot for this rest too take place. A place where there is plenty of food and water. To me this is a place where there are ample portions of the Word and the Spirit. They are food for my soul. Food that brings health to my inner parts. Lifting up the heart and restoring faith and hope in my dry places. I look to Jesus as the source of my spiritual as well as my physical well being. 

Isaiah 40:11 
He shall lead his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
I love this illustration of the heart of Jesus. The ultimate shepherd, not because he has too but because he wants to. A shepherd who laid down his life for the flock in order to protect them from the evil one who prowls looking for someone to devour. 

Part of AA is saying the Serenity prayer.
A prayer that finds stability of mind....
Stability of spirit....
Stability of purpose 
in the relationship with Jesus Christ.
Not that our situations and circumstances are stable, sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't.
The Serenity prayer speaks of the peace and stability that comes within and allows you to not be tossed about by emotion or indecision. It gives the ability to face what I cannot change. It gives me strength to confront and change that which I have ran away from in the past. It gives me wisdom to know which is which.

God....

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.
Taking, as Jesus did,

this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it.

Trusting that You will make all things right

if I surrender to Your will,

so that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with You forever in the next....

Amen!

Written By:

Reinhold Niebuhr