Help for Your Hard Daysনমুনা

God Will Give You What You Need

The group sits in a circle around the table. Some members are young parents who have just dropped their children off in the nursery. Others are retired grandparents who have transitioned to a new season. Every age and stage of life is represented. Together we’re getting ready to begin a weekly study. Before we start, the leader says, “Let’s go around the group and everyone share how they’re feeling this morning in one word.” The universal answer: tired.

That happened years ago, and yet I still often think of the answer everyone gave that morning. I remember it when I get together with a group of friends and we talk about our busy schedules. I recall it when I look at social media updates. I ponder it when I watch TV and see the hectic pace our world asks us to keep.

We are tired. And when life brings challenges, the little bit of margin we may have is quickly taken up. We find ourselves weary and then wonder why it’s so hard to enjoy our lives. In other words, we’re sheep in need of a shepherd.

I heard once that sheep have to be made to lie down. And that they only do so when they feel secure. Apparently a sheep is capable of wearing itself out. It needs someone to say, “Take a break, buddy.” We’re not so different. And Jesus knows that’s true about us. That’s why he says that he will be our shepherd. He will make sure that we lack nothing . . . including rest.

I love how Psalm 23 says that the shepherd has the sheep lie down in “green pastures.” What does a green pasture mean to a sheep? It means its needs are going to be met. The sheep is not worrying about going hungry. God wants us to live that way too. And not just when it comes to our physical needs but also those in our hearts as well. He says, “Lie down, daughter. I’m going to take care of your needs. You can stop striving. Rest.”

He also leads us to “quiet waters.” Sheep need water that’s quiet in order to be able to quench their thirst. They don’t want to drink from raging rivers or stand on shores with crashing waves. We also need still places to be refreshed. Our schedules may feel like a tsunami is coming toward us, yet our Shepherd says that he has “quiet waters” for us to drink from instead.

Our role in all of this is to choose to be led by our Shepherd and not by our society. If sheep followed other sheep, they’d soon get in trouble. The flock would be worn out, in danger, and deprived of what it needed to survive. When we let the world around us define our need for rest, we put our hearts at risk. You have a good Shepherd. He doesn’t want to drive you so hard that you fall down from exhaustion. He doesn’t want to force you to go through life without nourishment and refreshment. If you’re exhausted and you feel like you’re just “doing what you have to do,” then it’s time to pause and see whose lead you’re following.

A full schedule and an empty heart is a sure sign that it’s time to draw closer to the Shepherd again. He’s promised that you will lack nothing. What are you holding on to out of fear? What is not bringing real nourishment in your life? Where do you need to stop striving and instead begin trusting again?

Our Shepherd knows this about sheep: they’re prone to stray. They don’t even mean to do so a lot of the time. They get distracted by what looks good and can end up taking a long walk that wears them out. If that’s happened to you, it’s okay to ask the Shepherd to come get you and bring you home. Tell him your heart is hungry and thirsty. Tell him you need to lie down (maybe even take a nap). Tell him your soul needs to be restored. You’re not going to be in trouble.

Shepherds understand sheep. Yours already knows where you are and what you’ve been through, and it brings him joy to care for you.

God, I’m so grateful I belong to a good and faithful Shepherd like you. Thank you for watching over me and caring for all my needs. You understand me even better than I understand myself. Today I’m coming to you and asking for all that I need. Amen.