The following article is an excerpt from the book Jesus Now by Frank Viola Author
Rest
He makes me lie down in green pastures …
Sheep will not lie down if they are afraid. Neither can they find rest if they are bothered by other sheep or insects or if they are hungry. Sheep must be completely at peace before they can sleep.
It is the shepherd’s job to ensure that a sheep is content enough to relax. Sheep are easily startled. This makes them one of the most timid animals on the planet.
The main thing that causes a sheep to feel safe and secure is to spot the shepherd. Seeing the shepherd relieves the sheep’s anxiety and puts it at ease. It also causes a sheep to be at peace with other sheep.
In the same way, being conscious of the presence of Jesus relieves our fears and causes us to rest. The presence of Christ causes us to forget about our squabbles with others, which are often rooted in selfish ambition and pride.
It is the present-day ministry of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, that gives us calm in the midst of life’s storms. It is His presence that relieves us from parasites and other pests that disturb our peace. And it is His nearness that causes us to lose all sense of rivalry and competition with others.
The shepherd’s job is to clear the ground of roots, stumps, and weeds and to ensure that there is fresh grass for the sheep to find rest. Again, hungry sheep can only stand.
Jesus, our good shepherd, provides us with spiritual food so that we can rest contented. This is available to all of God’s children, if we only avail ourselves of it.
Refreshment
He leads me beside quiet waters …
Typically, sheep rise before dawn and begin to eat. If there is heavy dew on the grass, sheep can go for months without actually drinking. One of the jobs of the shepherd, then, is to provide water for the sheep.
In the Gospels, Jesus had a lot to say about thirst and drinking.
Go to the well that never runs dry. You don’t ever need to thirst again. On the other hand, substitutes like drugs, fame, possessions, sex, etc., will all eventually run dry.
Jesus gives us water to drink. Just like the real food we are given to eat, the real water is Himself.
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” … Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:10, 13–14)
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (John 6:57 KJV)