He leads me beside quiet waters.
Psalm 23:2(b)
There’s something almost magical about water. I used to teach on Saturday mornings which, at the end of a long and very busy week, was very tiring indeed. Sometimes I’d then catch a lunchtime flight to visit Claire, my fianceé, in Northern Ireland, who would then whisk me off to the shores of Belfast Lough for a relaxing walk from Crawfordsburn to Bangor. No matter how tired and stressed I felt, that coastal walk always managed to revive my soul. Claire knew the restorative properties of that walk, and would often drive me down to the lough.
If Claire knows me well, God knows me even better. He knows all of us better than we know ourselves. He loves and cares for us more than we will ever know. Since he created us, he also knows exactly what we need. Like a shepherd who cares for his flock, God leads us, and if we accept that lead, we will find that our lives are far better than they would otherwise be.
I am sure that in a flock of sheep there are some who try to run away from the shepherd, and we are just like that. We think that we know best, and try to escape God’s leading influence in our lives. This upsets God, because he realises that without his leadership, we will ultimately struggle and die, but he gives us the choice of whether to follow him or not.
If we follow his lead, he will help us to deal with the stresses and strains of everyday life. He will take us by the hand and lead us on that relaxing and restorative walk beside quiet waters.
Do you think that you know best, or are you happy to accept God’s leadership in your life? Will you let him take you by the hand and lead you to the quiet waters? Remember that he knows best, not you!