At daybreak, we could stand beside the pond.  The water was still. Two ducks floated by and a turtle sunned himself on a rock.   In the silence the songbirds chirped a beautiful melody.  Quietly launching our canoe, we paddled out, to become one with the serenity of the lake, such a place of peace.

For several years,  this joy was ours, while we summered at a small lake cottage.  The tranquility of these mornings is a feeling I will never forget.  It is this picture that comes to my mind when I hear the words of Psalm 23, “He leads me beside still waters.”

The word “still” in English refers not so much to water that is not moving, but to water by which we can rest. The Hebrew word is מְנוּחָה (menuchah), is also used in the other psalms referring to: “This is my resting place forever.”

I think about the word, stillness.  God is with us every moment of every day. But, it is our “busyness” that dulls our awareness of his presence.  When we are still, then we feel the peace of his presence.  “Be still and know that I am God.”  Psalm 46:10

Allow him to lead you beside the still water today. He will not force you.  Rest in the stillness with him.  Be refreshed.  And let us all say yes!

The song I have attached, “Beside the Still Waters” is a new Christian song based on Psalm 23.

Judy