He Restores My Soul

“He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3

To restore something means to bring it back to its right or original condition. You restore a piece of furniture. You restore a classic car. You restore an old house. But how in the world do you restore sheep? How does God restore us as the sheep of His pasture?

Ezekiel 34 shows how Israel’s political and religious shepherds had failed in restoring the people:

 “The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken”. Ezekiel 34:4a

God is a good shepherd, and, unlike these spiritual leaders, He restores us from every condition mentioned here.

Three kinds of sheep are alluded to in this verse that have conditions God wants to heal and restore each one of us from, especially in this time of lockdown.

The first kind of sheep mentioned, the weak, are termed as “Cast Sheep” in Shepherd’s language

1. Cast sheep – A sheep that is flat on the back, weak and helpless.

A “cast sheep” is when a sheep gets stuck on its back and becomes weak, helpless and vulnerable to attack. This is alluded to in Psalm 42  where the Psalmist says, “Why so cast down O my soul”. Usually this is due to the sheep being too fat and lying in a comfortable depression in the ground. As it rolls to the side to relax it loses its centre of gravity and tips onto its back and gets stuck on its back with its legs flailing around. In this state it panics and desperately bleats for help. Left too long like this the gases build up in its stomach, cut off the blood circulation to its extremities and it can die within a few hours, especially in hot weather.

Phillip Keller says in his book “A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23”, “When the shepherd finds a cast sheep, he immediately starts a process to restore the sheep to an upright position. First, the shepherd gently rolls the sheep onto its side. After giving the sheep time to adjust to being back on its side, the shepherd lifts it into a standing position, all the while evaluating its stability. If the sheep has been down for a long time and is wobbly, the shepherd will straddle the sheep while he rubs its legs to get the circulation going. Not until the sheep’s equilibrium has fully returned will the shepherd send it back to join the rest of the flock”.

When God finds us flat on our backs and crying out to Him, usually due to remaining in our comfort zones and becoming spiritually lethargic and fat , He reaches out to lift us up, putting us back on our feet, getting the circulation flowing again, and bringing us back to the protection of His rod and the direction of His staff.

During this time, we need to cry out for His restoring presence so He can put us back on our feet. We do this by setting aside time to praise and worship Him and bathe in His presence.

The second kind of sheep mentioned are the sick.

2. Sick sheep – A sick sheep, usually due to various infestations.

The most common sicknesses in sheep are from infestations of flies, parasites or worms. The Bible shares with us that God anointed his people with oil just as the shepherds anointed the heads of their sheep with oil (Psalm 23:5). This was not just a symbolic ritual. Sheep are easy targets for flies, lice and ticks. A sheep that was not covered in oil on his head could easily become the victim of infestations of these pests. Bugs would crawl through the ear canal of the unoiled sheep and nest in its brain, eating away at it. The pain from the bugs would be so severe for the sheep that it would bang his skull on rocks and against trees to ease his suffering.

Parasites and worms can enter sheep as they eat contaminated grass causing worms and parasites to enter their stomachs, causing great discomfort. In such cases medicine is needed in the form of medicinal plants. For example, Mulberry leaves and fruit are a good treatment for worms.

One name for the Devil is Beelzebub meaning “Lord of the flies”. Our enemy sends out lies into our heart that can enter in our ears by hearing negative words. These lies cause spiritual sicknesses that poison our relationships with God and others. To prevent such lies we need the medicine of His Word and the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. His Word and Spirit bring us a merry heart that is like medicine (Proverbs 17:22) to drive away the effects of all demonic parasites in our life!

During this time, we need to allow Him to apply His Word and Spirit’s anointing upon our hearts to bring restoration. We do this by soaking in His Word and waiting for fresh infillings of His Spirit.

The third kind of sheep mentioned are the injured.

3. Injured sheep – A wounded sheep due to an accident or attack.

In Bible times sheep could be attacked by lions and other wild animals and the Shepherd would fight them off with his rod. Sometimes the sheep would be injured by such attacks or even by freak accidents where the sheep makes clumsy decisions causing it to fall on sharp rocks or hard surfaces. If this was the case, then the shepherds would use cloth soaked in balm to ease the pain and bind up the wound.

We too can suffer spiritual attacks from the ‘roaring lion’ (1 Peter 5:8) and even hurt ourselves due to our own wrong decisions.

The remedy in such cases is to allow Him to bind up our wounds with the balm of His precious blood and the cloth of His robes of righteousness. During this time, we need to apply His blood by repenting of all sin and forgiving those who have hurt us and putting on the new man which is His righteousness.

During this lockdown the Lord wants to lead us into His rest (into green pastures, besides still waters) so He can restore our souls so we can be led into paths of righteousness.  If You are a “Cast Sheep” let His restoring presence put you back on your feet. If you are a sick sheep let His Word and Spirit protect and heal you. If you are an injured sheep let His blood and righteousness cover You and put you back together again!