The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. -

Still waters. How so very sweet that passage of scripture resonates in my heart. Job made the observation that man is born of ‘few days and full of trouble’. And there are days that our hearts break, our soul is so weary we feel we can’t go on. And, yet, there’s that psalm … He leads me beside the still waters and restores my soul.

But there are different waters. There are also stagnant waters. Both still and stagnant waters are still. So, what is the difference? Are we being led to stagnant by evil or to still waters by God? Both waters are still. Still is calm and silent; a time of being refreshed and revived by God from the evil of this world. It is a perfect water, a clear blue that reflects the sky above. Stagnant waters lack freshness, motion, flow or progress. It becomes so motionless only bacteria thrives in its depths, often giving off foul smells.

Our spiritual life is one of the two. We are either resting in God’s peace- a peace that passes all understanding. A peace that refreshes our soul and gives us the strength to persevere in His perfect will. Or we are caught in the mire of stagnant water, becoming caught in the world’s filth and evil. We can’t have it both ways; we much choose to stand beside the still waters in Christ or the stagnant waters of an evil world.