seeing green pastures

16 I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. 17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:16-18

"He makes me lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2). The reason God has to make us lie down in green pastures is that sheep tend to think the grass is always greener on the other side. Like a shepherd with his questioning sheep, God has made me lie down in some pastures that didn't look so green to me.

That happened to me a number of years ago when I took Unemployment 101. I candidated to be the pastor at seven different churches and every one of them turned me down. We went through our savings and had to sell our second car just to make do for another month or two. During that time, my wife Mary had two surgeries and I came down with meningitis. Then we found out that Mary was pregnant. The doctor told her that some of the medicine she had taken could have affected our baby and that it was likely we would have a deformed child. All of these events transpired in less than 10 months. Not what I would call green pastures! Those pastures appeared to be mighty brown.

For the first time in my life I dealt with depression. Over the next 2 years the only time I would ever laugh was when I played with my kids. Other than that, I didn't laugh, because there was a deep sadness within.

If I could have seen what God was planning, I would have been really excited. But at the time, all I could see was what I had lost. And that's why everything looked so brown. Today, as I look back on those years, I recognize the green of his greater favor—he was tenderly, steadily leading me forward. The pasture was there all along.

If all you're seeing is brown today, remember that one day you will look back and see the green pasture he had prepared. Rejoice in his goodness and trust him with the many colors of life (Habakkuk 3:18) —Steve Farrar

seeking: Father, how have you just refreshed my wilting spirit? What praise will I bring to you this day?

responding: What “brown” and down times has God led me through in the past? What green pasture do I see ahead? • Why is it so important to rejoice in God when things aren't perfect?

Father, you have been so faithful to me over the years. Help me to see your loving hand even when things look bleak. I love you and worship you.

following: God is good in the green and the brown times.

our journey