Daily Devotional Series: Green Pastures in Death Valley

This is going to be a “daily” (no promises there) devotional series based on the Navigators Bible reading plan. Each devotional will be rooted in the passages assigned to the given day. I know that Bible reading plans can easily fall into daily box checking, which is why I decided to begin this series. My hope is to provide an example of what it might mean to piece together four different, seemingly unrelated passages in a way that draws a meaningful application to your life. The story of Scripture is one. There is a thread that joins all of it together. If God has revealed to us that all Scripture is beneficial to us, I believe that all Scripture we consume on any given day of a Bible reading plan may share that same trait. Let's dive in.

January 30th, 2025

Day 25, Month 1

Matt. 10:1-20, Acts 15:1-21, Psalm 23, Gen 50

“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” (Ps. 23:1-2)

Who knows the sting of betrayal? Who has felt the pain of false accusation? Who has cried through tears of disappointment? I’ll tell you one person who has; Joseph. Through being tossed into a pit, sold into slavery (both by his brothers), jailed wrongfully, and forgotten carelessly, Joseph’s life does not look like one of peace, solitude, and smooth sailing. Rather, Joseph looks to be a prime example of chaos, disorder, and rough waters.

However, at the end of the narrative of Joseph’s life, he finds himself telling his brothers this, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20). Joseph’s perspective comes with a deep understanding of what it means to be led by the Good Shepherd. The same understanding David possessed when he wrote Psalm 23. God is our Shepherd who makes us lie down in green pastures, leads us beside still waters, and restores our soul. Period.

This is true because he desires to give us something more than resolution to our physical circumstances. God knows our hearts (Acts 15:8), and because of that he knows that our greatest needs are not food, shelter, and meaningful relationships (although these things are important), he knows our greatest need is his very presence.

His presence is his way of bringing us into green pastures, leading us beside still waters, and restoring our soul, so that we don’t need luscious grass, crystal clear water, and a zen state in order to be nourished and thriving. No, we simply need his presence, and he has given us just that in Jesus. In Jesus, God provided for us his very presence to sustain us both now and in eternity. His life of temptation yet without sin and his death with resurrection provide for us the two greatest things: sympathy and grace. He is able to sympathize with us, meaning he understands our physical circumstances and is consequently able to give us just what we need. And he is able to give us grace, meaning he extends to us the favor of the Father that only he merited, the benefits of Sonship that only he qualified for, and forgiveness that he did not need. By the presence of Christ we find ourselves always in green pastures, smooth waters, and peace in our souls.

So, today when you find yourself in a less than ideal situation– a tense conversation with a coworker, a tough decision with a job, turbulent family and home life, etc., remember this, God’s presence provides for you what you need. God’s presence feeds you. God’s presence cleanses you. God’s presence heals what is broken inside you. And God’s presence is with you that you might not be anxious, fearful, or worried. Jesus himself told his disciples as he sent them into something less than green pastures, “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour” (Matt. 10:19). You can count on this, with the Good Shepherd, you will have what you need when you need it.