You Can't Make Me!

Have you ever heard a kid tell their parent “you can’t make me”? Maybe you’ve seen a toddler throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the grocery store, and when the parent tells the kid that they need to stop screaming, the kid yells back,  “You can’t make me!” Has God ever told you to do something, and instead of obeying, you essentially told Him, “You can’t make me”?

This week I was re-reading over a very familiar passage of Scripture, and my attention was drawn to one particular phrase. Here are the first four verses. I’m sure you’re familiar with them:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.He makes me to lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:1-4 NIV) 

Look at the second line again. He makes me to lie down. The Hebrew verb here is in the active voice – this means that the subject of the sentence (in this case, the Lord) is one who performs the action, and the object (in this case, “me”) is the one being acted upon. The psalmist is not lying down of his own accord; the Lord acted upon him to make him lie down.

Sometimes the Lord has to make us lie down. Maybe we’re headed in the wrong direction and He wants us to realize our need to repent, to stop and turn around. Or maybe we are doing what He has called us to do, but we have neglected to take time to rest and abide in Him.

How can Jesus make me lie down? He may remove things from my life that are distracting me. He may use any number of circumstances in my life to make me stop, slow down, and look to Him. Like the frustrated parent of the screaming toddler in the grocery store, His instructions are for our own good. Look again at these four verses at all He does for us:

• He supplies our needs.
• He gives us rest when we need it most.
• He gives us refreshment when we’re depleted.
• He guides us along the paths He wants us to travel – paths that will give Him the most glory and honor.

He does so much for us, but probably the most comforting thought in this psalm is that even when we’re walking through great trials…even when we have no idea where we’re going or how we’re going to get there…even when we can’t see where the next step is…there is no reason to fear. He is still there and He is walking right beside us, guiding us. This should give us great comfort and take away all our fears.

This is not to say that I have mastered walking through dark valleys without fear. However, when I am tempted to be consumed with fear, maybe that is when Jesus makes me lie down and rest so that He can renew and refresh me. Jesus says His sheep listen to His voice (John 10:16). I need to be quick to listen to His voice and obey whenever He guides me onto a new path just like I need to be quick to listen and obey whenever He says it is time to rest. And may I never be guilty of screaming at Him “you can’t make me,” because He can, and He will.