DAY 16 - GREEN GRASS

Zach Atwood, YA Events & Operations Team Lead

“He makes me lie down in green pastures” Psalm 23:2a

I’ve been reading the Psalms in my quiet time, and I got to Psalm 23; one of the most studied Psalms of all time. It’s a passage that, even if you’re not a Christian, you’ve heard bits and pieces of scattered throughout our culture in songs, movies, etc. So I thought to myself, “Yes, I’ve heard this one 834 times, it’s on my roommate’s/mother’s coffee cup, Jesus is a Shepard, the valley of shadowy death, I can breeze past this one…” But it hit me differently this time around.

Maybe it’s the quarantine, maybe I’m maturing (probably not), but as I read the Psalm 23:2, “He makes me lie down in green pastures,” for the 834th time, I thought to myself “Maybe this season; this fear-filled, chaotic, unknown season of life, is the green pasture He has for me.” Maybe that doesn’t sound too not revolutionary or profound for you, but let’s walk this thought out.

Throughout Psalm 23, David uses imagery and references of sheep and shepherds; we, the human beings represented by the sheep, God represented by the shepherd. Sheep are dumb. They get lost easily, need constant support, are always anxious, and struggle to live without constant hand-holding, and they struggle to find food and water on their own (makes you feel really good about yourself, huh?). Shepherds are in charge of the flock. They bring peace and guidance along the journey, they fight off enemies, they calm fears, they provide for their flock, and they ensure that the sheep are well fed and rested.

We, the sheep, struggle to see beyond what is in front of us. We become fear-filled and begin doubting our shepherd when what’s in front of us is chaos, fear, and the unknown. We crave for what is on the horizon. We begin to believe that the grass is greener on the other side and our shepherd isn’t bringing us there.

Now don’t get me wrong, this season of life may be difficult for you: you might be living alone, away from family and friends, you’re worried about your job, you literally cannot connect with people, you’re constantly concerned about your health, and all of your future plans seem broken. Rather than pushing and fighting our way out of where we find ourselves now, rather than running from where the shepherd has us now, what if you stayed put?

What if He’s asking you, “Can you trust that even though this pasture may not seem green to you, it will be all you need in this season? Can you trust that when the time comes, I’ll bring you elsewhere?”