What Are You Drinking?

     As we continue with Psalm 23, we see that the Good Shepherd leads His sheep to still waters. We see several things from this one statement. First, we see that like with protection from fear, it is the shepherd that leads his sheep to water. It is his duty to make sure his sheep has their need for water met. A sheep can become physically ill without water. Then they become weak and restless and will frantically search for water. However, a good shepherd always makes sure that a good, clean, pure water source is available to his sheep.
     The second thing we see is that the water is still. Have you ever tried to stand in a roaring river or rushing stream? It is difficult at best. Many adults and children have drowned in raging water they had no control in. Sheep have this problem as well. They become buoyant in water long enough to float away in any kind of moving water but will eventually drown. A shepherd always makes sure his sheep are drinking from shallow, still water.
     Lastly, we want to look at the water itself. A shepherd has three ways to provide water for his sheep. One is springs or streams. This is a great means of refreshment to the sheep but not always available. The other source is deep wells. However, to provide water from a well to your flock, takes a lot of hard work from the shepherd as he bails water in the heat of the day.
     The last way a shepherd provides water to their sheep is the most common. If the sheep will rise early and start to feed on the green foliage, they will get enough water for the day from the dew on the grass. They can survive for three months without water from the streams or wells. The shepherd arises early and leads his sheep to their field of nourishment.
     Though a shepherd leads his sheep to clean, pure, fresh water, often stubborn sheep will be determined to drink from dirty pools of infected water. This water can have urine, manure, and bacteria in it. Why would they drink from this when they have fresh water provided to them by their shepherd? They are stubborn, willful, stupid animals!
     Jesus, our Good Shepherd, leads us to still water each day. We have spiritual souls that need water. When we do not let our shepherd provide daily water to us, we will look to substitutes to refresh and satisfy our souls. Many will try knowledge, culture, travel, sports, social activities, hobbies, community effort, etc. But when all has been tried, they find themselves facing the same haunting, hollow, empty, unfilled thirst within. Only Jesus can truly satisfy. He leads us every day to a point of refreshment in our souls. Yet, so many 'human sheep' drink from dirty, dangerous, destructive pools of the world. 
     I have fought for my entire spiritual life that my time with God did not have to be in the morning. It is true that our time with God should not just be in the morning but for the entire day. However, scripture keeps showing us that there is something about time with God first thing in the morning. The majority of the sheep’s thirst was quenched with the morning dew. Scripture tells us that God’s mercy is new everyday; just like the dew! Testimonies of great men and women of God repeatedly point out that the secret of the success in their spiritual life was attributed to the ‘quiet time’ of each morning.
     At a feast in Jerusalem Jesus states boldly, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” In spiritual terminology, “to drink” simply means ‘take in’. We are to ‘take in’ Jesus to the point He consumes us.
     Are you drinking from the still, clean waters that Jesus alone provides? Are you drinking from the perverted water of the world? Do you ‘take in’ Jesus?

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still water.

Psalm 23:1-2

Information taken from the book A shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller