Still Waters
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. – Psalm 23:1-2 NKJV.
I (Jesus) am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. – John 10:11 NKJV.
For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. – Revelation 7:17 NKJV.
Rushing waters can pose a threat to people and to sheep. Weather dot com gives these facts about rushing water, which indicate how dangerous rushing waters can be:
Water flowing at 7 mph has the equivalent force per unit area as air blowing at EF5 tornado wind speeds.
Water moving at 25 mph has the pressure equivalent of wind blowing at 790 mph, faster than the speed of sound.
Only six inches of rushing water can knock a person off of their feet.
Sheep have a problem with water that people do not have, which is their wool. A sheep knocked over by rushing waters will have their wool rapidly saturated with water making it impossible for them to recover. So it is imperative for a good shepherd to find “still waters” for their flock, but the water had to be clear, of good quality, and could not be rushing water.
The shepherd leading his flock to “green pastures” and “still waters” is a picture of peace and contentment. The shepherd provides for all of the needs of his sheep and they “shall not want.” We people sheep not only need to have our needs provided for in “green pastures,” but we also need those “still waters.” The “still waters” that we need are the living waters (John 4:14) that only our Lord can give us.
The Psalmist speaks two other times of being still:
Psalm 4:4b “Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.”
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Of course we remember what our Lord did in Mark 4:39, “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”
It is God’s will that you have those living waters, those “still waters” to renew your soul each day. In order for that to occur you will need to have a time when you can “be still” to drink of His “living water.” When you do that, the Lord will say “Peace, be still!” and He will still the winds and the waves in your life.
Ask the Lord to lead you to those “green pastures” and “still waters” every day.