He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters
~ David the shepherd
I hate the hospital; nothing there seems efficient or restful. I was scheduled for an echocardiogram so I was taken by transport to ‘the department’ and left sitting in a hallway by a desk like I was lost luggage. The technician who ‘claimed’ me for testing didn’t appreciate my reference to lost luggage; yet when she was finished she left me by some discarded lunch trays. Talk about starting to feel useless and unwanted… The next day I spent lying on my back, hungry, and endlessly waiting for the process to cycle all over again.
In the midst of this, each night a nurse came on shift that spoke of her love for God, it was encouraging to those of us He had ‘made to lie down.’ I am usually the one on the go trying to help and work things out, but here I was ‘made to lie down’ and listen and wait. Fran was so kind and gracious, making sure I had what I needed … even made me a whole pot of coffee the morning after my catheterization … an angel!
There are times in our lives that God ‘makes us lie down’ and wait on Him. In these times He speaks to our hearts and prepares us for what is to come in His plan. This time of resting in God’s care allows us the separation we need to hear His voice and to see things from His perspective. He wants us to know we exist because He wanted us to exist. He wants you to know you are loved. God wants you to know you are who you are, what you are, how you are, where you are, and when you are because He made you (John 1:3), wove you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), called you to be His own (John 10:27; Romans 8:30), and assigned you a place to live (Acts 17:26). The greatest thing we can do with our lives is to live to the hilt the adventurous assignment God has given us… right where we are at this moment… no matter the circumstances.
God wants you to know He has ‘made you to lie down’ exactly where you are and He is providing everything you need in His ‘green pasture.’ Don’t give up; don’t give in, find rest in His presence… There is hope and His name is Jesus.
Choose wisely…
No guilt in life, no fear in death… This is the pow’r of Christ in me.
From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand, ‘Til He returns or calls me home… Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.
Praying 4 U
Written by David Brown: David Brown is a husband, father, grandfather, Pastor with a Masters of Religious Studies and a Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religions. Dave is the Associate Pastor of Pemberton’s First Baptist Church.