He Leadeth Me

Before reading, please listen to The Martins sing a cappella, a beautiful rendition of He Leadeth Me.

  I have always appreciated how God has used water to create beauty.
But as I have aged, I believe I have seen his creation of water more and more through spiritual eyes.  When I think of the variety of ways He shows us with water who He is, I am caught simultaneously with both a childlike smile and a lump in my throat. 

     Maybe our great God gathers water in a common puddle, so He can enjoy watching a young, galoshless boy on the way home from school jump into it with both feet.   This same God created the thunderous Falls of Niagara, knowing that men would stand at its edge in awe.  But there are lessons in both the puddle and the Falls, for those who are spiritually alert.

   

 God has blessed America with countless creeks,
brooks, streams, springs, rivers, ponds, lakes and coastal oceans.   Why are we drawn to these ?  I think because each is beautiful in its own way, helping us to retreat from the chaos and cacophony and to find the solitude we so desperately need.  

     One of the most peaceful, restful scenes in the Bible is the one David paints in the 23rd Psalm.  In verses 1 and 2 he says:

     The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.   

    All my life, when reading those verses, I don't think I have ever pictured more than two people---always it has been just the Lord and me.   The low, gradual banks, thick with mature trees, are lush and green and only a stone's-throw apart.  The stream flows almost imperceptibly, the surface smooth and reflecting.   It is so mirror-like that I can see my own reflection next to the Master's.  And our meetings aren't random.  He has led me here to "restore my soul."

     I gently plead with Him that I don't want to leave.  And He assures me that the time will come when I will have a forever place.  But, until then, He will "guide me in paths of righteousness" even through "the valley of the shadow of death." 

     You and I can say, along with the psalmist David, 

        "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

     So, after a time of refreshing and reassurance,  we leave the comfort of the streamside and return to our calling and ministry, wherever He has placed us for our earthly sojourn.  We take care of our families and meet their needs.  We pray. We do our best to honor God with our jobs, our to-do lists, and even with our leisure time.  Sometimes,  we share our talents, our time, and our treasures.  Other times, we may be withdrawn and selfish.  We honor our aging parents and steadfastly love our children whether they are wayward or faithful.  We ache for our disease-stricken friends, and rejoice with those who are in remission.   Always, we pray.  Sometimes our finances are troubled.  Other times, we receive "good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, and poured into our laps."  There may be seasons of rest, or our schedules can be relentlessly demanding and hectic.  We pray.   And soon, very soon, that haven beside the still waters beckons. 

     But each time we return from being with the Shepherd beside the still waters, it seems we are less troubled,  more hopeful,  and more trusting of what lies ahead.    In Revelation 22, the apostle John shares with us a glimpse of another body of water, one that we shall see forever:

     Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.  On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.

     But perhaps, even then, we'll still recall those soft days along the banks of those reflecting waters, when we cast our cares on the Shepherd, and each time He calmed our anxious hearts.