The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. Psalm 23:1-3a

“I just need some wisdom,” is my most frequent prayer request. In the beginning you asked one or both your parents for advice and counsel. Late in life it’s down to you. Unfortunately, adult problems are complicated, and they can come at you in twos and threes. When stress compounds and straits are dire, I know of no other passage of scripture more calming and reassuring than Psalm 23.

Read it and almost immediately there’s sufficient comfort available to stop the hyperventilating long enough to realize you’re not in it alone. He says to us as we wallow in frustration, doubt and fear, “Follow me, and you’ll want for nothing.”

I love it how his first step is to make us “lie down in green pastures.” It’s equivalent to saying “stop the pacing and sit down!” What better to collect our thoughts in than a peaceful patch of cool green grass, looking up. From this vantage point we’ll see nothing but the Lord’s handiwork. In such a pasture was the expectation, at least for the sheep, to be aptly fed. So should it be with us.

Then the Lord, our shepherd, leads us by “quiet waters.“ With the hustle and bustle of the world and cacophony of cares and concerns bouncing off the walls of our heads, we need to be quiet long enough to hear what he has to say.

So, the first things we need when there’s no talking to us are peace and quiet. In this state he restores our soul. To understand this best in this day and age, what he will do for us is hit our reset button, and we’re back to full dependency on him. It’s that simple.