by Zach Roll

The Lord’s Provision.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”

Psalm 23:1-2 English Standard Version

When you come across this passage and see “green pastures”, what comes to mind? Probably rolling hills and valleys with the most beautiful, thick, green grass you’ve ever seen. You probably aren’t thinking of dry, rough, rocky terrain with little to no vegetation. However, that is what the “green pastures” in verse 2 are really like, taking into consideration the historical and geographical context of this passage. Ray Vanderlaan explains this in more detail, in his series “That the World May Know.”

In the Biblical lands of the Old Testament, the area where sheep would graze would be pretty dry with scarce vegetation. The sheep would graze from rock to rock, eating what was available to them. It wasn’t this lush feast of fine grass, that we often imagine in our minds. The sheep, however, were taken care of. They had what they needed, and their shepherds would keep them on that path where food was to be found so that they would not stray away and get lost, injured, or killed.

This is a picture of the Lord’s provision for us. We don’t always get all the things we desire, but our God provides for us exactly what we absolutely need. This verse is not telling us that our lives will be overflowing with fancy things, good food, and comfort. It tells us that each and every day God has provided for us what we need. Often times, even when we complain about what we don’t have, the Lord has provided us with more good things than we deserve. Let us be grateful for our bounty in Christ Jesus.

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Matthew 6:26 English Standard Version

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