featuring the painting also named "Quiet Waters"

I don’t know how many times my husband has had to stop the car on the side of the road for me, so I could get out because there was a horse I wanted to greet. I love horses. I love their smell, their eyes, and their soft noses. They are so intuitive and relational.

The horses in this painting “Quiet Waters,” standing in the calm, early morning waters of the river are wild mustangs of the Salt River area of Arizona. Looks like such a peaceful moment doesn’t it?

It is…and yet, it isn’t. An unhappy change is on the horizon for these horses. I wonder…

- the rest of the story -

…do they sense it?

The photo I painted from was taken just weeks before the wild mustangs were going to be rounded up and removed. For wild horse lovers like me, seeing these horses removed from their home to increase ranching land is devastating. Only days after I completed the painting, a reprieve was approved and the horses given 2 more years to live free in their home. However, this danger is still on the horizon.

As I painted, I wondered if they sensed the change coming. In fact, I even thought it was possible they sensed the stress in all their admirers who came to see them and take pictures. And it occurred to me, if that is true, in the midst of that stress they still continue to enjoy these peaceful moments of quiet river mornings.

Peacefulness in the midst of change, uncertainty and fear. Is that even possible?

As I pondered this question, I thought again about Psalm 23. I’ve written about it before, but as I painted this landscape, my mind rested on the end of verse 2 and beginning of verse 3. The Lord is my Shepherd... “he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”

It suddenly occurred to me that in my mind, I often partition all the characteristics of the shepherd in Psalm 23 by my circumstance. For example, if I’m heading into surgery, I am mostly praying for and expecting protection. I pray for quick healing so that I can get back on my feet and back to those peaceful waters where he strengthens me. I don’t picture those peaceful waters being there right in the midst of the surgery room.

But, might it be, that “peaceful waters” and the calming restoration of our heart and soul actually happen in the midst of the dark valley…in the midst of the battle…in the midst of difficulties? It’s not about getting past the difficulties to the good stuff. It’s about knowing the fullness of who our Shepherd is in the midst of them!

Psalm 23 isn’t a list of different things God can do for us in different situations. It’s bigger than that. Psalm 23 tells us about who God is! We humans, are so focused on our circumstances, we forget he is all of these things, at all times, in all situations!

Let’s take a quick look at an overview of what we learn about Him from Psalm 23.

Who is the the Lord our Shepherd?

*He is a provider

*He is rest

*He is peacefulness

*He renews strength

*He is a guide

*He is close

*He is a protector

*He is a comforter

*He is bigger than any circumstance or situation

*He is a giver of blessings

*He pursues us

*He is goodness and unfailing love

*He promises us an eternity with him

Now imagine not just one or two but every one of these characteristics being applied in every moment of your life.

I am astounded. My whole view of Jesus’ presence in my life has expanded. While I wait for test results, I don’t need the results to experience peace and rest. When someone lets me down or forgets about me or hurts me with unkindness, I can still experience the comfort of love, closeness and faithful relationship from Jesus. When I experience anxiety over the future, I don’t need to know how it will work out because He is bigger than bad circumstances…in fact he blesses and provides in the midst of them!

Wow! Just wow! I have decided to carry this list of who my Shepherd is to remind myself that my circumstances don’t define what I experience in life. Instead, as my shepherd, Jesus defines how I experience every situation in life!

These wild mustangs in my painting may sense the anxiety around them, but they know exactly where to to find peace. We too have somewhere to turn to no matter what is happening around us. We can turn to our Shepherd. Feel free to use this list like I am to remind you, and others, that Jesus your Shepherd is all of these things, at all times, in all situations.

“Quiet Waters” is an original acrylic painted from photographs by photographer Larry Metzger and used with permission.