Pt. 1 The Pasture
Often in our lives we find ourselves in seasons where it may not seem like much is happening externally. For example, it could be a season where our health forces us to rest. In fact, for many women this could be the postpartum season when our bodies require recuperation, and tending to a new life means a period of staying home. It could also be a season of routine, where we feel like nothing new is happening or there is not much on the horizon. Like David, in this season we are called to be still and shepherd what God has given us. It can feel like an odd season at times because we are met with the juxtaposition of stillness while still feeling the exhaustion of daily work. Being called to the pasture isn’t easy. It requires the ability to find peace in the stillness as well as the endurance to work hard without seeing immediate results. This is also what makes this season so special. God continually calls us to go back to this place because it is in this season that we learn how to rely on Him in a new way. The pasture requires us to be still in a way that makes us sensitive to God’s voice, His presence, and His power.
It is important to note that, even when David was tending the sheep, he never missed out on what God had for him. When the prophet Samuel came to visit Jesse and anoint one of his sons as the next king of Israel, David wasn’t even in the room. However, he didn’t have to force his way to be recognized or noticed. Culture today tells us that we constantly have to look out for ourselves and get ourselves in the right room. Not only was David not in the room, he was tending his father’s sheep; he was serving others, not himself. Because of this, because David embraced his time in the pasture, God was the one who brought David in the right room at the perfect time. The pasture teaches us to rely on God.
In the season of the pasture we may feel unnoticed or that we’re not doing enough, but we can trust that if we embrace it, at the right time, God will get us to where we need to be. Even after David was anointed king he never pursued being king, he only ever pursued God’s presence. The pasture recenters our focus on God, and it is when we are pursuing Him and Him alone that we receive all that He has for us.
Oftentimes when God is about to lead us to the next step or next level, He will call us back to the pasture. He calls us to a place where, through the pursuit of His presence and awareness of His voice, we are reminded of how we can completely and totally rely on Him. It is no wonder why some of the most beautiful psalms David ever wrote were inspired by his time as a shepherd, and it was these very psalms that would quiet Saul’s mind and bring him peace. The tools and awareness of God’s presence that David gained in the pasture would be the very thing that made him successful in the palace. We cannot walk into the palace without the faith and strength we receive from our season in the pasture. The pasture prepares us for the palace.
Photo by Sean Robertson @knuknuk and used by permission via Unsplash