I am writing this while listening to a gentle rain falling outside my open window. No wind or even a breeze. No cars. No kids playing outside. Just the gentle life-giving water settling into the lawn and dirt. It’s peaceful.
Psalm 23:2b states that our Good Shepherd will lead us beside “still waters.”
As much as I love walking along the beach, the ocean is restless and noisy. Waves gather momentum, crash, and then pull themselves back out.
Rivers are powerful.
Still waters are just that — Still. Peaceful. Inviting. Quiet.
Stillness and quiet are something of a novelty in our world today. Everyone is busy, moving, producing. To not be any of those things is often deemed lazy or unmotivated.
And quiet? When was the last time you enjoyed absolute freedom from manmade noise? Music, talking, shouting, cars. Quiet, just like stillness, has become so rare that many of us are uncomfortable with it. We will create noise or allow noise to avoid quiet.
And yet silence truly is golden. A recent article in The Epoch Times, “Virtue Medicine” talks about the restorative power of silence. In summary, science has found that silence has positive effects on both our cardiovascular and cognitive functions, and helps our neurons grow. It lowers heart rate and blood pressure. It reduces stress and depression. Silence allows for self-reflection, helps with emotional regulation, and creates clearer decision-making.
Still waters are a place of peace and quiet. A place to restore oneself.
Which is why David concludes verse two as follows:
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
Science is just now catching up with Scripture.
So when God leads you to still waters — embrace it and all it has to offer — and listen. God’s power is in the restorative water and His voice is in the silence.
Psalm 23:2b states that our Good Shepherd will lead us beside “still waters.”
As much as I love walking along the beach, the ocean is restless and noisy. Waves gather momentum, crash, and then pull themselves back out.
Rivers are powerful.
Still waters are just that — Still. Peaceful. Inviting. Quiet.
Stillness and quiet are something of a novelty in our world today. Everyone is busy, moving, producing. To not be any of those things is often deemed lazy or unmotivated.
And quiet? When was the last time you enjoyed absolute freedom from manmade noise? Music, talking, shouting, cars. Quiet, just like stillness, has become so rare that many of us are uncomfortable with it. We will create noise or allow noise to avoid quiet.
And yet silence truly is golden. A recent article in The Epoch Times, “Virtue Medicine” talks about the restorative power of silence. In summary, science has found that silence has positive effects on both our cardiovascular and cognitive functions, and helps our neurons grow. It lowers heart rate and blood pressure. It reduces stress and depression. Silence allows for self-reflection, helps with emotional regulation, and creates clearer decision-making.
Still waters are a place of peace and quiet. A place to restore oneself.
Which is why David concludes verse two as follows:
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
Science is just now catching up with Scripture.
So when God leads you to still waters — embrace it and all it has to offer — and listen. God’s power is in the restorative water and His voice is in the silence.
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