my dog bumpus has this strange habit. he is a great, big, beautiful anatolian shepherd who is normally quite mellow around the family, but as soon as i reach for my tennis shoes, he begins to go crazy. all 110 lbs. of him barrels down on me, making it impossible for me to put on my shoes. he is super excited for what he thinks is about to happen: we are going for a walk.
getting his leash on is also quite the task. jumping up on me, he sets his paws on my chest and looks me straight in the eyes. he cocks his head ever so slightly to the right to show his displeasure over how slowly i am getting ready.
the good news is that i have been making some progress with my beloved shepherd dog. i have been forcing him to sit down. if he doesn't sit, i put my shoes away. if he refuses to yield, the leash vanishes and we both are left staring at each other, seeing who will back down first. lately, i have been winning.
the 23rd psalm is probably one of the best known chapters in all of the bible, and although i have read and preached on it more times than i can tally, i have never paid close attention to one of the specific actions that our Good Shepherd takes with us. psalm 23:2 says, "He makes me to lie down in green pastures."
in my mind's eye, i have always pictured this verse as a shepherd leading his sheep into the middle of the opening scene of the sound of music. the sky is blue and beautiful. the snow-capped mountains lie in the back ground. the hills upon which they stand are so green and verdant that it makes nuns want to sing and sheep want to sleep. it's picture perfect!
yet, here is this alarming verb that shatters such an idyllic scene. the shepherd has to force his sheep to lie down and rest. he takes his staff (which provides so much comfort in verse 4), hooks it around the sheep's neck, and forces the sheep to prostrate itself. the hebrew verb that king david used when he wrote this psalm is in the hiphil tense, which shows the cause behind a verb. you could translate it this way: "He causes me to lie down." sometimes, God's purpose for us is to prostrate us.
i have to admit, in some ways I am like my dog bumpus. i too get excited about all the activity a new day brings and i am impatient for my Shepherd to get His sandals on and lead me. i race into my day, barely pausing for a quick prayer or short devotion. i keep up this frantic pace days or even weeks on end, until i realize that i haven't been walking closely with Christ. rather, i have been trying to sprint an entire marathon. the more i do, the more that needs to be done. it's all so exhausting.
thankfully, because God loves me, He is not afraid to grab me by the neck and force me to lie down. this actually happened to me at the start of my sabbatical! in the final month before my break, i was sprinting to get everything finished. i had a checklist 26.2 miles long and i was absolutely determined to cross off every single item. by the time my sabbatical started, i was exhausted. that's when i threw out my back. yes, that's right. i spent the first two weeks of my sabbatical with a throbbing lower back. on several occasions, i had to spend the whole day in bed because it was the only way i could find any relief.
my first reaction to my condition was one of self-pity. i prayed, "really, God? i have been planning this spiritual break for almost a year, and a bad back wasn't on the itinerary. couldn't You have thrown a little mercy my way and spared me of this?" God answered my prayer with psalm 23:2. "My dear son, you have a bad habit of constantly running, even during your time off. so I am going to force you to lie down. I will take my staff, put it around your neck, and lay you out! I do this because I love you. My purpose for you is that you would feed on My Word and thereby be strengthened by My Spirit. take comfort, My child. you will arise again, renewed and refreshed. but for now, lay down!"
is God making you lie down? perhaps your finances are forcing you to have another "staycation" this summer. maybe your dealing with mounting pressure from work or family that is causing you to realize that you can't do it all on your own. possibly your back has given out too (or some other aging body part!). don't see God's forcefulness as a punishment. take comfort in it. i know that i do. He is causing us to lie down and to find peace in Him.
[why not take a moment right now to read psalm 23? read it slowly, attentively, prayerfully.]