Stopping for a Rest

In the book, Theo of Golden, we find a character (Theo) who has decided something important.  He will spend his remaining years in active pursuit of peace and rest that comes from doing 'Jesus things.'  Psalm 23 spells out some of these 'Jesus things' in one of the most beautiful poems found in Scripture.  "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He maketh me lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul!"

Theo has lived a life of celebrity, success, pain, and loss.  He could be bitter.  He could become helpless and broken.  But Theo, a man of faith, becomes better.  Why?  That's what Jesus does.

Psalm 23 is all about what God does to create in us a character that makes the world around us better.  These first few verses speak to our hearts ... but do they change us?  Here are a few things Jesus is doing:

1. Jesus claims governance of our lives.  Sheep follow the shepherd.  Sheep are led by the shepherd.  Sheep stray and are sought, found, and brought home by the shepherd.  

2. Jesus provides.  The passage, "I shall not want," can be read several ways.  It can be read as having an attitude of being content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11). It can also be read as a command.  I think both are true.  Jesus is sufficient.  In the song "Resting Place" (a 2016 song by I Am They), the group revives a 1891 song by Eliza Hewitt. Eliza Hewitt was a teacher who was attacked by a student in her class, an incident that left her in severe pain and with a lifelong spinal injury.  Wheelchair-bound, she still became a Sunday School Superintendent in her church and wrote hundreds of Christian hymns.  Jesus provides!

3. Jesus brings comfort. Jesus causes us to stop for rest.  The shepherd monitors the state of the flock, and knows when to stop.

4. Jesus brings peace. Did you know sheep don't like fast-moving water?  It gives them anxiety.  The shepherd leads the sheep beside still waters.

5. Why does the shepherd do all of these things?  He restores our soul.  That's what Jesus does!

I pray for church people who are so caught up in where they have been that they forget the shepherd is leading us somewhere.  I pray for many friends who constantly post about their frustration and anger with one political party or the other, to the point that they are obsessed.  I pray for those who are lost and need the shepherd to find them.  And then I think of the lesson of Paul (Philippians 4:11) and Theo from the book.

Theo has chosen to get out of God's way.  So he watches for the good in people.  He sees past facades and looks toward the soul that has been created by God.  Where he passes, lives are made better.  God is using him to show the story of shepherds, contentment, still waters, green pastures, and restored souls.  And THAT is a beautiful thing!