We often read this verse and imagine beautiful rolling green hills and a calm river or lake. But the truth is that when David wrote this, he was in the middle of the Israeli desert. There were no rolling green hills of grass and no long lakes with glistening water.

What David refers to as green pastures is small tufts of grass that that grew around the rocks on the mountainside he was walking. These were the green pastures his sheep fed off. And the quiet waters were small troughs of water found in small caves or sheep pens that the sheep would settle around at night and drink from.

As their shepherd, it was David’s role to make sure the sheep had enough to get them to where they needed to go, and these green pastures and quiet waters were exactly what the sheep needed to get them through their journey. In the same way that David was their shepherd and made sure they had what they needed, God is our Shepherd and makes sure we have exactly what we need to get us through the journey we are currently on. He provides for us in ways that we need. He does not always change the situation we are in, but He walks the season with us.

And He provides what our hearts and our soul needs in that moment. He also knows our unique physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual needs, and provides in those areas, too. Again, it doesn’t always look like what we want, but it is what God believes we need. Given that He is our Creator, He knows us well enough to know what we need better than we do.

We are all walking a different journey; some of us are on the mountaintop and some of us are crawling through the valley. Regardless of our season, God is with us, providing everything we need to get us through.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for loving us so much and knowing exactly what we need. Thank you for providing us with what we need to get through each day. We love you, trust you, and need you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.