“He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures”

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

This sentence contributes to the cute and cuddly little lamb reputation of Psalm 23 more than any other. Trust me. This phrase is NOT cute and cuddly. It is a test.

The phrase is translated correctly. He, the Shepherd, MAKES me lie down. The clear meaning of the text is he FORCES us to lie down. We don’t like being FORCED to do anything. But that is the point of Psalm 23, isn’t it? It is letting the Lord be our Shepherd – to guide and direct our life path. In this case, we lie down because he is FORCING us to. I do not believe it is odd that the first action the Shepherd makes us do is lie down. He wants to teach us that trusting him AND his timing is the primary way that we get to live the Psalm 23 life.

Ever had the Shepherd MAKE you lie down? I have seen him do this with sickness. I have seen him do it with unemployment. I have seen him do it with grief. I have seen him do it with singleness. I have seen him do it with a marriage on life support for long periods of time. There are hundreds of ways that the Shepherd makes us lie down.

Why would God do this to us? He is exposing us to our hearts. He shows us what is keeping us from living the Psalm 23 kind of life. He shows what is keeping us from having the kind of relationship we want with him. He is not making us lie down to make us frustrated, angry, or discouraged. He wants to transform those emotions into trust. Frustration will not lead us to a Psalm 23 kind of life. Neither will any of the other possible responses to being FORCED to lie down; he is trying to purge from our hearts what hinders us most.

Being MADE to lie down is about God’s restorative plan for us. He makes us lie down to slow us down, to change the pace of our often frantic lives that can be so destructive to our spiritual lives.

The problem with many I know is that they listen to the inner voice telling them, “Go, go, go! Don’t let up! Idleness is the devil’s workshop! Be productive! Life is short. You might die tomorrow, or Jesus may come back, so you had better make a difference today, right now!” It could be God, the Holy Spirit, or the angel Gabriel. I think differently now. I honestly don’t remember who said this, but “if the Devil can’t make you bad, he will make you busy.” Trust me, it is not God or any angelic being; that badgering inner voice is Satan trying to destroy you.

The Shepherd says in the middle of human chaos, “Lie down. I have created a space of peace for you, and I want you to do nothing but rest.” To have a Psalm 23 kind of life means not racing through life. It is the kind of life that does much more than just “stopping to smell the roses.”

A Psalm 23 life is the kind of life that allows God to direct us to lie down, trust him, and find joy in the little things and see them as gifts.

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