“He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:2b-3 NKJ
“He leads me beside the still waters.” - Have you ever stood at the edge of a lake or pond in the early morning hours before anything has disturbed the water? It is a breathtaking experience! I imagine that for David still waters signified a place of peace where he and his sheep could drink unthreatened by predators. It was a place where they could have their thirst quenched so they would be prepared for the next stretch of their journey. I imagine it was also a place of reflection where David communed with God. I say this because when a shepherd is herding sheep they are constantly on the move and they have to be vigilant in making sure the sheep were safe. At the water’s edge the sheep were all in one place and were focused on drinking; so it was probably one of the times David could relax.
I often think of the beauty of our New Covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ when I read this verse. Unlike David, we have the stillness of the Living Water, Jesus Christ inside of us. We no longer have to strive for peace or thirst for the opportunity to commune with God. Both have been given to us through Jesus Christ. In John 14:27 Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” And in John 7:37-38 Jesus said, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” When we accept what Jesus did for us at the Cross the rivers of living water flow out of our heart. Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ makes all striving cease! Communing with God and peace of mind belong to us through our covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
“He restores my soul;” – Notice that it was after David wrote “He leads me beside the still waters” that he wrote “He restores my soul;” So being near the water’s edge was a time of refreshing for David. It was the place he was rejuvenated and strengthened. The same is true for us when we spend time meditating in the Word and looking into the perfect law of liberty, Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus where we are rejuvenated and strengthened. James 1:27 says, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” The perfect law of liberty isn’t a set of rules we follow. The perfect law of liberty is Jesus Christ and when we continue in Him, our lives are blessed in what we do. Our soul is made up of our mind, will, and emotions and that is where most of our battles take place. When we fix our eyes on Jesus as our perfect law of liberty He restores our soul and fills us with peace. He rejuvenates us and strengthens us for the journey of faith.
“He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” – After David spent time at the water’s edge he herded the sheep once again and set out on the next part of the journey. His trust was in God to lead, protect, and provide for him along the way. But again what David had to do in his own strength, we do through the power of Jesus Christ working in and through us. Many people miss this in their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. They are like David and go from water’s edge to water’s edge looking for their souls to be restored. The Psalmist who wrote Psalm 42:1-2 describes this kind of striving best. He says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” When people strive to stay on the path of righteousness through trying to live a perfect and holy life, it leads to exhaustion and their soul once again thirsts for God. In Jesus we thirst no more!
When He leads us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake, we are filled to the fullness of His Gospel and He gives us everything we need for the journey of faith. Paul says it best in Ephesians 3:14-19. “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
I want to encourage you to meditate on these verses and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if you fully understand what Jesus did for you on the Cross. Ask Him to reveal if there are areas of your life where you are still striving to find peace and strength through your own efforts of trying to commune with God. If your souls still longs for God and is anxious, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what it means to have the living waters of Christ inside of you. May you come to a full understanding of the benefits that came to you through your Covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Prayer: May I come to a full understanding of what it means to live and move and have my being in You. Quiet my soul through the power of Your Holy Spirit so I will stop striving to commune with You through my own strength. Grant me wisdom to understand the fullness of the Gospel that dwells in me through my relationship with You. I praise You for being faithful to reveal the Truth of who I am in You. Amen
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