“We are the people of His pasture,
the flock under His care.” – Psalm 95:7
We each choose our lifestyle, our values, basically, what pasture we chose to graze in.
As Americans, we pride ourselves in the American dream – we can achieve anything.
All pastures are available for our grazing pleasure. Opportunities abound . Are the innumerable opportunities making us any happier? Are we more satisfied?
Statistics about Americans report:
Only 1 in 3 Americans is happy (source).
According to the United Nations 2015 – World Happiness Report (source) – Americans are rated #15, as a nation, in terms of personal well-being.
The question is – are we choosing healthy pastures?
Do you ever find that your lifestyle and activities leave you feeling hungry, not satisfied? Some pastures of life don’t seem to feed us what we need.
Let me list some of the pastures we can graze in:
1) The pasture of pleasure.
It might be dining pleasures we feed on here, or media pleasures, or sports pleasures – but here we feed on feel-good endorphins. We go here to get bites or ’hits’ of pleasure. Often, we are left wanting more.
2) The pasture of comparison.
This pasture is the go-to place for those who want to ‘get ahead’, or just make sure they are keeping up. Continual side-ways glances and maneuvering for better and finer positions on this field are the name of this pasture’s game.
3) The pasture of do-gooding.
A service oriented pasture, I’ve lived here myself. This is a place for those who want to make a difference. It feels a bit like heaven – except the pressures to make changes in the world can get very heavy. This pasture feeds the stomach of self worth, through self-works. It usually leaves its sheep feeling more hungry than fed.
4) The pasture of love.
This pasture definantly feeds a need in us. The grass here is rich and very green – it’s a beautiful place. The sheep here tend to get a little thick around the middle. It’s hard to stop eating these sweet grasses – gluttony is a risk in this field.
A wonderful pastor we had for many years told us, he preached only one sermon – a Kingdom message – throughout his twenty plus years of preaching.
[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]There are two kingdoms – God and Self – whose kingdom are you choosing?[/tweetthis]
My translation: What pasture are you choosing to graze in?
I’d like to believe I can graze in several pastures – feed on the American dream, while also saving some room in my stomach for some heavenly grasses – from the God planted pasture.
What I’m noticing, is I’m still hungry when I’m potlucking at numerous pastures.
And I’m guessing I’m not the only hungry soul – even in the church. People seem dissatisfied. Discontent. Restless, somehow.
Do we want greener pastures?
“The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me besides quiet waters.
He restores my soul.”
Psalm 23:1-3
[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]To me, the message of Easter is God offers to lead us to greener pastures.[/tweetthis]
God offers to lead us out of the troubled waters and places in our lives where we are hungry – dissatisfied. To green pastures. Places we can rest.
I love how Psalm 23:1 describes our need – ‘He makes us lie down in green pastures.” We need help even resting.
God does this in a way we can’t do on our own.
He offers to restore our souls.
He accomplishes it through wiping out the places in our lives we’ve messed up, the long list of screw ups, the record of wrongs and misdirection, the weight of guilt and blame. All wiped clean.
Fresh beginnings. Restored life.
“..Turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing may come.” Acts 3:19
Greener pastures. Restored souls. Times of refreshing.
Allowing God to be Our Shepherd – to lead us and make us lie down in greener pastures, that will truly nourish and feed our hungry souls.
**Lord, give us this day Your daily bread. Your nourishment to meet our every need. Forgive us our wandering and restless hearts, and lead us back into Your very arms. We want to be the people of Your pasture; under Your care.
Linking up with Holley’sCoffeeformyHeart, PurposefulFaith, JenniferDukesLeeTellHisStory, Faith’nFriends
This is such powerful truth. Yes, when I graze in other pastures I find myself still wanting.
Thanks for blessing me with your comment, Elizabeth!