From the archives of Oral Roberts – Second of eight parts
He maketh me to lie down in GREEN pastures: he leadeth me beside the STILL waters. — Psalm 23:2
Green pastures. Now the Psalmist could have just said “pastures,” but it wouldn’t have meant much because some pastures are old, brown, dried-up grass, rocky and full of briars. And there’s no nourishment or rest in that. But can you think of anything more refreshing than green grass and still waters?
Still waters. After feeding the sheep and letting them rest for a while, the shepherd leads them to the watering place. Now sheep will not drink from a rushing, noisy stream, so the shepherd first dams up the stream and makes it into a quiet pool. Then the sheep drink.
The Lord, our Shepherd, provides us quietness and refreshment. You see, He wants us to rest. There’s a restlessness in our nation, or a “rootlessness.” People are always on the go, moving here and there. They can’t seem to be quiet. Of course, the Lord wants us to have action. But He wants us also to have times of quietness in Him – quietness in our heart from which power is generated to have godly action going on in our lives.