DRINK DEEP

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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I know of no greater invitation from the Lord to come into his loving presence and receive the gift of his rest than in the word of Jesus Christ that follow:

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

(Matthew 11:28-30 NIV11)

Replace

This open invitation calls to all of us who recognize our need for the gifts of God’s loving mercy and rest. Jesus invites you and I to see our need for his rest and to lay down our burdens before the Lord. 

Jesus promises that we will receive the gift of rest as we take action. It is instructive to see that the rest offered by Jesus Christ is not inaction or sleep, instead his rest comes to us in a reorientation of our work and action in this life. 

As we lay down our burdens, we pick up his mission. The rest of the Lord is a calling to serve him. We must accept that the rest of the Lord requires action on our part. We do not just lay down and stop living, we allow the Lord to replace that which is causing us to be weary and burdened with that which brings us life and meets our deepest needs. 

Next

This is the point of the next section of Psalm 23 that we need to listen to today.

As we have done several times, let’s pause and pray before we listen to the words of this powerful message from the Lord.  

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

(Psalm 23:1-6 NIV11)

Waters

In the second section of verse 2 we hear, “he leads me beside quiet waters”. 

Here we have the shepherd leading the flock to a place of continued provision and rest. 

The Shepherd guides the sheep to a source of calm or quiet water. Now it is worth noting that sheep and goats will not normally drink from fast moving water. It is too noisy and it makes them nervous. So the Shepherd provides a calm pool a calm and quiet source of water that allows them to stop and drink deep. 

Opportunity

The Hebrew gives the image of the sheep lying down next to the calm water so that they can drink their fill. But unlike the preceding forceful language of the shepherd that sees the Great Shepherd making the sheep stop their wandering and lie down for rest, here the Shepherd simply provides the opportunity for the sheep to drink. 

The Shepherd gives the sheep the opportunity to have all they need, to have green pastures and calm water, but the sheep must choose to drink. The sheep must choose to take up the provision being offered by the Shepherd.

Force 

The Lord does not force us to drink deep, to take on board his provision of rest. Instead, the Lord gives each one the opportunity to be filled with that which brings us real and lasting peace. 

As the sheep of the Lord’s pastures, WE must be the ones to drink deep. We must willingly make the exchange of our burdens for the mission of God. 

Reflection

•   What burden is the Lord calling you to lay down in his presence today?
•   Are you ready and willing to say yes to the call of God in this area of your life?
•   Will you receive the gift of God’s mission and purpose in exchange for your current state of weariness and burden?
•   Will you stop and drink deep of the provision of the Lord today?

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

Copyright © 2024 Ryan Laden – All Rights Reserved.