From Jeffrey R Holland and his book “For Times of Trouble”:
It would be nice if life were so calm and consistent that we never had occasion to feel discouraged. If there were no tribulations in our lives, no difficult or taxing circumstances that consumed our spiritual and emotional capital, we would have little need for any restoration to our soul. But life isn’t calm or consistent and we all face times that strain us of strength. Fatigue is a debilitating fact for all of us. We all get tired. This is why we all sleep, we all need a break from our routines, we all need a vacation, however brief or inexpensive it may be.
Certainly this is the reason God ordained the Sabbath. Rabbi Harold S. Kushner has written regarding Exodus 31:17: “In six days the Lord made the heaven and earth and on the seventh day He rested.and was refreshed.” He notes that in Hebrew the verbs that were translate “rest” and “refreshed” are shavat, meaning “He stopped” (from which the word Sabbath comes) and yinafash, meaning literally “He got His soul back.” 279
If God needs rest and refreshing, needs to “get His soul back” (if only symbolically and as an example to us), then surely we do as well. Everyone of us needs refueling, regeneration, encouragement, hope, Fortunately, God has structured life in ways that we can get these if we will. As noted this water is “living water springing up unto everlasting life.”280 That is real renewal!
So, good, with the bread of life. The bread of mortal existence leaves us hungry, sometimes as soon as we have eaten it. Even the manna that came to the Israelites in the desert was not long-term on life-giving in the spiritual sense. But Christ as “the bread of life” is, was, and always will be. “I am the bread of life, Jesus taught, = “He that cometh to me shall never hunger . . . for the bread of life is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”281 We get life and hope, sustenance and help from God. Only heaven can restore our souls and put our feet solidly back under us.
In this latter regard, Phillip Keller, an experienced sheep rancher, noted that an old English shepherd’s term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself is a “cast” sheep, or a “cast down” sheep.282 Given a sheep’s physiology—and maybe its psychology—it will lie their on it back, flailing away with its legs in the air until it dies it help does’t come quickly enough. Not only is natural death a threat in this circumstance, but the sheep is also helpless, hapless prey for any predator that may be watching for such an easy kill.
As a side comment, it may be be interesting to note that a fat, healthy sheep is probably more vulnerable to casting than others—suggesting that ease and luxury may be as much a challenge as want and limitations. What happens is that a well fed and perhaps long-fleeced sheep—one who is seemingly coming along as an owner would want—may lie down and roll around a little and stretch our and relax. However, if in the joy of all this the center of gravity shifts a little too much and all four legs lose contact with the ground, the sheep is “cast.” It is highly unlikely that the lighter weight of the legs, even churning in mid air as they are, will be substantial enough to overcome the bulk of the sheep’ girth, which is literally holding those legs upright. I am non sure Paul had a “cast” sheep in mind, but he may have had a prosperous, seemingly self-sufficient Christian in mind when he wrote, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 283
All of us have been “cast down” from time to time, and we know what it is like to cry and bleat, flail and fear without any apparent ability to help ourselves get on our feet under our own power. Then, as we should always do, we look to God and plead for help in times of trouble. Because He is the Good Shepherd, He is always watching, always aware, always looking for the sheep that is cast down. He readily comes and provides living water and the bread of life, lifting things up and setting things right. He puts us on our feet again. He restoreth our soul. And don’t be surprised if His assessment for the future suggests we shed a little satisfied weight and have some of that excess wool shorn. As with the Father Gardner, every branch that beareth not fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”284 Life has its ups and downs, but the Good Shepherd will always seek us out, well help us, and as necessary will discipline us sufficiently that we don’t find ourselves vulnerable again in the future. He restoreth My Soul. ~~ Jeffrey R. Holland, For Times of Trouble (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012) p. 211-13
