I SHALL NOT WANT

Psalms 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.”

Many people never seem satisfied, and almost everybody wants more. A little child wants more toys and more television time. A teenager wants more freedom and more popularity. Most of us adults want more possessions and more leisure time. Certainly as we age, we want more health, more friends, and more loyalty from our children.

Yet, listen to these words of the Apostle Paul, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want" [Philippians 4:11-12].

Obviously, God wants us to be a happy, satisfied people. We shouldn’t be restless and jealous, always thinking about what we don’t have. There should be a spirit of thankfulness in us that brands us as belonging to Him. When you begin to read the 23rd Psalm you are immediately reminded of God’s love for us. Based upon that knowledge alone, we can be thankful because in this life the Good Shepherd gives us everything we need.

Frequently in the Bible, human beings are compared to sheep. Now that sounds nice, but surely you realize that is not necessarily a compliment, because sheep are among the dumbest and dirtiest animals in the world. So when Isaiah says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray," he is not saying "That’s good." He’s saying, "That’s bad, because we’re just about on a level with sheep."

When Jesus looked out on the people with compassion, the Gospel writers say that He saw them "as sheep without a shepherd." That’s not a compliment, either, but a concern, because sheep are so helpless when they’re all alone. We ought to know that the sheep cannot make it without a shepherd. The only reason that David could say, "I shall not want," is because David could first say, "The Lord is my Shepherd." The Lord has provided us with plenty, too. There are few of us who ever go hungry. In fact, we’ve so much to eat that dieting is a constant discipline - or, maybe more accurately, a constant discussion.

So many get excited about “not wanting”. Some dream of never needing and always having in excess. But for each of us who believe, we know this concept to be so much different from the world’s idea of having things and being satisfied. Our acknowledgement of his position as shepherd of our lives should fill us past full and satisfy us beyond belief. Following God is the answer to peace and contentment today. I am reminded of some of the most moving words of an old hymn written in 1862. These are words of satisfaction and peace:

He leadeth me, O blessed thought
O words with heavenly comfort fraught
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Let us work to stay close to him that leads us. In this, we will never lack for what we need.