“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.”

~Psalm 23:2-3a

As I reflect on the relationship I have with The Lord, living into a life where He is my Shepherd, I begin to learn that He has a plan for my well-being. In my humanness, entrusted with free will, I must be retrained in harnessing such a potent gift, and learn how to be lead. If I don’t learn to follow, I will wander like Israel in the wilderness. If I don’t learn to trust Him, fear will motivate my choices and determine my path. If I don’t learn that He is good, I will determine a good of my own choosing, and follow in Eve’s futile example.

After 42 years of walking with Him, I see how He has led me on an incredible journey. Often, a promise is offered to my heart, and a choice emerges that sets His will opposite from my own.

I once had a staff position that I loved at a large inner city church. One day, The Lord asked me to resign from that position. He said, “If you give up what you are satisfied with….I will give you what you are hungry for.” He has been in the process of making me lie down in green pastures ever since.

Dan and I are house sitting this week on some property entirely different than our own. We live in the core of the city of Portland…a few miles from the airport…..a short distance from train tracks and a freeway, and blocks from a busy street. We have learned to live with the activity and the noise. But this week, we have come aside to a place where our hearts can be stilled, our ears can hear Him in the silence, and our hope is fixed on Him. He restores our soul.