“Only in still waters do things reflect undistorted.” – Anne Brown

“Still waters run deep.” – Latin Proverb

“He leadeth me beside the still waters….” – Psalm 23:2 KJV

The one thing I love most about the Scriptures is the deep wisdom that can be found within one verse.  A particular passage can be read and reread, but yet one day; we can stumble across a meaning within it that has never crossed our mind before.

During my quiet time, I came across the Anne Brown quote above.  Immediately it brought to mind the verse I mentioned from the 23^rd Psalm.  For years, I read that verse – interpreting it from an entirely different viewpoint.

I would always envision the Shepherd guiding His sheep to the still, peaceful waters – a place where the tempestuous storms, the flash floods, and the raging rivers that surface within our lives cannot consume us.  “Still waters” represented peace, comfort, and rest.

But after reading that quote and thinking about it within the context of this verse, I saw something within it I had never seen before – a God who takes us to places that reflect truth and clarity – a place where we see ourselves, our struggles, and a reflection of our lives clearly, without any distortion.

I love the picture I attached to this note.  Sherwood is a scared place for our family – a place my father cherished as a small boy growing up and where his father participated in the building of the dam there.  It is a beautiful place to picnic, fish, and to soak in the view.  This photo illustrates the concept of still waters and the power of reflection that surrounds them.

Much about the life we live is far from still.  It flows at a pace that is often hard to keep up with.  It churns and rages.  The tides it creates can overtake us.  The muddy, stirring undercurrents can make things seem cloudy – hard to understand or see our way through.  The rapid movement can sweep us up.  Pretty soon, we are being carried off in a direction we never intended on heading.

We start to look at things in a distorted way.  We see events, people, and circumstances that surface in our lives in a slanted, inaccurate fashion.  The ripples life creates causes the waters to stir – making it hard to see and understand things in the light of truth.

Not only does the Shepherd lead us to the still waters of peace, comfort and rest – He leads us to them so we can see an accurate reflection of ourselves, our circumstances and the deeper meaning that lies at the center of them.

When we look closely at the still waters, we see clearly who we REALLY ARE – a child of the Most High God, made in His perfect image – designed exactly as we were meant to be.

We see clearly how the struggling marriage is ultimately creating a deeper, stronger bond between two people.  We see the truth of how a difficult child is expanding our capabilities to love without condition. We see the job loss as new opportunity, the death as a new beginning and the “accident” as really no accident at all.  The reflection shows us how uncertainty breeds greater trust, how faith is strengthened when we can’t see our own way through things, and how renewed hope rises out of desperation and despair.

We see the addiction and how it changed us into someone we could have never been without it – the friendship as an angel sent to us in our greatest moment of need.

But my friend, in order to SEE the accurate reflection in the still waters, we must allow the Shepherd to take us there.  We must follow His lead.  He has such a passion and desire for us to see the reflection of our life so clearly – bringing us to the calm, peaceful rest that still waters subsequently provide.

I love our God and how He interacts with us – how He brings us to a place where we TRULY SEE ourselves in the light of who we really are, how He reflects the beauty of each passing moment of life, and how He stills the raging waters of this world for us to see the purposes within them.

God bless you!